• Wales captain wants energy from home supporters

• Galthié beefs up pack for visit of in-form Italy

The Wales captain, Dewi Lake, has urged fans in Cardiff to lift his side for the Six Nations meeting with Scotland on Saturday.

After last week’s record thrashing by France, Wales have lost 13 consecutive Six Nations matches, while Scotland arrive at the Principality Stadium in upbeat mood after their handsome Calcutta Cup triumph over England.

• Five changes to the XV that stunned England

• Wales call up Bath-born Gabriel Hamer-Webb

Gregor Townsend expects Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe to be fuelled by “huge determination” against Wales after they were restored to Scotland’s starting XV for Saturday’s Six Nations meeting in Cardiff.

The British & Irish Lions duo were high-profile omissions from the 23 for the first two championship matches against Italy and England amid question marks about their form. The Toulouse back Kinghorn will start at full-back in place of Tom Jordan, who drops to the bench, while Van der Merwe, Scotland’s record try-scorer, returns at wing to take over from Jamie Dobie, who is out due to injury.

A humbling Six Nations defeat at Murrayfield has left the England coach with significant questions to answer

Some of life’s certainties are impossible to sidestep. And to the trinity of death, taxes and rail delays can now be added a fourth familiar staple. When Scotland play England at Murrayfield it is now all but guaranteed the hosts will raise their game to Ben Nevis‑type heights and the visitors will be taken down a peg or three.

Thus it was again at the weekend as Scotland reignited the bonfire of English vanities and once more sent the auld enemy homewards tae think again. A chastened England were exposed repeatedly in thought and deed by opponents unrecognisable from the sodden losers in Rome the previous week and, as a result, the visitors were brutally consigned to a fifth Calcutta Cup defeat in the past six editions.

Head coach must make changes for Ireland’s visit after his error-strewn side lacked the nous to fight back after the hosts’ fast start

England arrived at Murrayfield announcing their intentions to be “bulletproof”. Truth be told this was Scotland shooting fish in a barrel. Punishing mistakes, of which there were a litany, Gregor Townsend’s team exposed the glaring limitations of Steve Borthwick’s side that will be desperately difficult to recover from.

Defeats happen, England’s winning run was always going to end sooner or later, but the paucity of this performance is some setback for a side whose grand slam hopes are over for another year. Two years ago Borthwick bemoaned how England had “played small” after a fast start, unable to stem Scotland’s momentum after giving up the initiative. Here they barely played at all. For England unravelled at Murrayfield again. It is as if Flower of Scotland flicks a switch in these players and Murphy’s law makes a mockery of them.

• Scotland 31-20 England

• Jones (2), Ritchie and White with tries; Arundell sees red

Certain wins feel bigger than others and, for Scotland, this result will reverberate for ages. Reclaiming the Calcutta Cup is always sweet but convincingly ending England’s 12-Test unbeaten record was a glorious bonus. For Gregor Townsend and his side, under pressure after their opening round defeat in Rome, this was some riposte to their critics

Ultimately, it was not even close. Two tries by Huw Jones, a hard-nosed collective effort from the Scottish pack and a typically artful display from Finn Russell were simply too much for an England team who had dared to believe this week that their previous tartan traumas were behind them. Instead, they were outplayed and tactically out-thought by Townsend and his coaching staff. England have now won just two of the past nine meetings between the nations.

Scotland score four tries as England’s 12-match unbeaten run ends with a thumping in Edinburgh

If we could distill the feeling when the music cuts out in Flower of Scotland, and the fans take over, we’d be millionaires.

Hook that right into my vein and call me in a week!

Scotland have lost only two of the last eight clashes with England but Borthwick’s squad are unscarred by failure

In one of sport’s weirder coincidences, England are about to play must-win games against Scotland in both rugby and cricket on the same day. The forecast 3C temperatures for the Calcutta Cup encounter may be cooler than in Kolkata – appropriately the venue for the T20 World Cup group fixture – but a white-hot contest inside a chilly Murrayfield can be absolutely guaranteed.

Because this particular collision, the 144th since the sides first met at Raeburn Place in 1871, looks set to shape the Six Nations prospects of all involved. To say Scotland are under additional pressure following their defeat by Italy in round one is to state the obvious. And England, too, will take the field knowing the time has come to demonstrate whether or not they are the real deal.

• Scotland slipped up in Six Nations opener in Italy

• Townsend keen to lean into strong Calcutta Cup record

Gregor Townsend has warned England against underestimating his Scotland team and believes the hosts can maintain their fine recent Calcutta Cup record in Edinburgh on Saturday. The visitors have only won two of the last eight fixtures between the two countries and Townsend wants his players to feed off the feelgood memories of previous English losses.

While last weekend’s deeply disappointing loss to Italy in Rome has generated plenty of external criticism, England have won only once at Murrayfield since 2017. Townsend is expecting his players to bounce back from their Italian setback and says they will be inspired by past successes. “I would hope they don’t fade into irrelevance because our players have evidence that they’ve won in this fixture,” stressed the head coach.

England head coach warns against conceding penalties and intensity drop-offs before Six Nations visit to Murrayfield

England’s players normally look forward to a Calcutta Cup examination at Murrayfield with about as much enthusiasm as a trip to the dentist. At best it tends to be uncomfortable, at worst it’s grip-the-chair-and-pray time. And that’s before they are wheeled out into the freezing rain and the hygienist produces a set of bagpipes to enhance the experience even further.

So it was more than a little unnerving to listen to Steve Borthwick talking about his team’s genuine enthusiasm for what lies in store. Never mind all the recurring pain they have endured in Edinburgh in recent years, with three defeats in their past four visits. This time they are heading north in a strikingly different mood, flashing the kind of confident pearly white smile usually reserved for Love Island contestants.

As pressure builds before Calcutta Cup, Scotland’s coach may well have reached the point of diminishing returns

The witty Anglo-American author Ashleigh Brilliant passed away last September at the age of 91, but his best lines are timeless. Beleaguered sports coaches worldwide will all recognise one of his characteristically pithy observations: “I try to take one day at a time – but sometimes several days attack me at once.” To be responsible for an under-pressure national side must induce a similar feeling.

So what do you do when coaching life starts serving you lemons? After a while there are only two options: try to ride it out, or accept it might be wiser for someone else to have a go. It can be a delicate judgment, often shaped by non-sporting considerations. Unless it becomes apparent, as seemingly happened with the recently ousted All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, that your dressing room has already made the call for you.

Championship risks becoming a two-tier affair as Ireland, Wales and Scotland all lose on the opening weekend

Few competitions in the world have the capacity to turn wine into water quicker than the Six Nations. Only a few days ago players, coaches and fans of Ireland, Scotland and Wales were poring over the championship fixture list with their customary annual relish. Now, after just one round, they are having to deal with the most sobering Celtic wake‑up call for more than a quarter of a century.

Take your pick from the following trio of chastening outcomes. On Thursday night in Paris, as France dazzled in defiance of the damp conditions, Ireland were outclassed in every respect. In Rome, where the second half might as well have been played in the Trevi fountain, a below-par Scotland were flushed away. As for the quality of Wales’s first-half performance in south-west London the less said the better.

• Italy 18-15 Scotland

• Azzurri resist fightback in appalling conditions

They say the Six Nations is all about momentum and Scotland, again, find themselves sliding rapidly downhill. Passion and effort are guaranteed from any Italy team, but they were clinical and defended magnificently in Rome. Gonzalo Quesada’s side ruthlessly capitalised on Scotland’s often rank inaccuracy and this richly deserved win – a second in three years against Scotland – sets them up beautifully for the tournament.

The fly-half Paolo Garbisi played the appallingly wet conditions superbly to celebrate his 50th Test, testing the visitors’ defence with spiralling contestable kicks and striking the ball sweetly off the tee. The centres Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex, also marking his 50th cap, were sensational again while the energy and skill of the wing Louis Lynagh significantly softened the blow of Ange Capuozzo’s injury absence.

• Six Nations updates from the 2.10pm GMT kick-off

• France 36-14 Ireland | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Lee

6 mins. The position is wasted by the visitors as the malfunctioning lineout show continues, the ball lost back to the Italian side. There’s some more traded possession via kicks as both sides try to find a groove in the damp conditions. Thus far all they are finding is a grumbling crowd at how poor it all is. But there’s a lineout coming for Italy in the Scottish half.

4 mins. Scotland have their first lineout and their attempted catch and drive is spilled by Matt Fagerson as he looked to set up the maul. However, Ref O’Keefe determines the reason for said spilling was an illegal early drive from Italy. Penalty Scotland and it’s sent to touch in the Azzuri 22.

• Head coach insists Ireland can close gap on top sides

• Champions France triumphed 36-14 in Paris

Andy Farrell is confident Ireland can keep pace with Test rugby’s leading sides as he prepares to conduct a frank post-mortem into a resounding 36-14 Six Nations loss to reigning champions France.

Farrell’s side were outclassed during Thursday evening’s one-sided tournament opener in Paris on the back of comprehensive autumn defeats by New Zealand and world champions South Africa. Ireland, who are hindered by a substantial injury list amid a period of transition, also suffered an emphatic 42-27 loss to Les Bleus last year in Dublin en route to surrendering the championship title.

England have the squad depth, but France have a returning hero and hosting duties for the potentially decisive finale

What are you most looking forward to? Let’s hope it stops raining at some stage. Because if Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Henry Arundell, Manny Feyi-Waboso, Louis Rees-Zammit et al have a licence to thrill with a dry ball this could be an eye-catching championship.

England are bullish, France are in flux, while Wales will be hoping just to beat Italy and avoid the wooden spoon

Fixtures: 7 Feb, Wales (h); 14 Feb, Scotland (a); 21 Feb, Ireland (h); 7 Mar, Italy (a); 14 Mar, France (a)
Last year’s finish: 2nd

In the professional era, there is a common denominator that suggests France and Ireland might be worth backing

All that performance data, all those fixture permutations. All the gym sessions and marginal selections. Not to mention all those finger-in-the-wind tournament previews. But what if identifying the winner of the 2026 Six Nations basically involves overlooking all of that and is shaped by an underlying factor so simple that it is staring everybody in the face?

Interested in finding out what this might be? OK, here goes. Without cheating (or consulting your new friend Monsieur AI), spot the common link in the following sequence of years: 2022, 2018, 2014, 2010, 2006, 2002, 1998, 1994, 1990, 1984, 1981, 1978, 1975, 1972, 1969 and 1967? Tricky, isn’t it? Even years, odd years, irregular gaps … if you were a statistician seeking a mathematical pattern you would be sat there gazing at the numbers for a long time.

We may know the sport’s future is bright when trendsetters worldwide are wearing Fabien Galthié-style shades

On the surface it was business at usual at this year’s Six Nations launch in a chilly Edinburgh. Had the city’s most famous literary sleuth poked his nose into the venue at the top of the Royal Mile, Inspector Rebus would have clocked the usual suspects: head coaches trying not to divulge any secrets, captains quietly studying their opposite numbers and content creators seeking to “jazz up” their tournament previews.

This year’s booby prize went to the “influencer” who asked Caelan Doris, Ireland’s captain, whether or not he liked Fabien Galthié’s thick-rimmed glasses. It was almost on a par with the Breakdown’s all-time classic: the day someone asked Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, to pick his favourite motorway service station. “Taunton Deane,” came the instant reply. “Because it means we’re almost home.” Brilliant.

We turn the dial towards whimsy and revisit some of the moments that made the autumn internationals irresistible

South Africa and Ireland played out a slugfest for the ages and the discourse has been dominated by yellow cards and flying shoulders to the head. England held off a spirited Argentina to claim their 11th consecutive Test win and it seems all anyone can talk about is some alleged after-the-whistle shoving. Wales and New Zealand traded 11 tries in a ding-dong encounter and yet the narrative is weighed down by caveats concerning fading empires.

What, exactly, is the point of Test rugby? Beyond winning World Cups and regional crowns, does this chaotic sport hold any value? A bit of spice elevates almost every dish, sure, but it has felt as if this autumn’s brilliant rugby fare has been smothered in a sauce with a needlessly high Scoville count.