Scotland v England LIVE: Result and reaction from Six Nations

Scotland 30-21 England: Duhan van der Merwe’s sublime hat-trick helped Scotland to a historic fourth straight win in the Calcutta Cup

Six Nations: Full Contact trailer

Duhan van der Merwe scored a superb hat-trick as Scotland rugby beat England rugby 30-21 at Murrayfield to claim a fourth successive Six Nations win in the fixture for the first time since the 1890s.

England, seeking a third Six Nations win for the first time since 2020, led through a George Furbank try after five minutes and looked in control, only for Van der Merwe to strike twice to help the hosts to a somewhat flattering 17-13 half-time lead.

The winger, who scored two superb tries in Scotland’s victory at Twickenham last season, collected a Finn Russell kick three minutes into the second half for his third, and two Russell penalties stretched Scotland’s lead to 30-16.

England emptied their bench and replacement wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso grabbed their second try after 66 minutes but, unlike in their opening wins over Italy and Wales, they could not complete the comeback as Scotland claimed their second victory having agonisingly lost to France last time out.

Relive all the action from Murrayfield below:

Six Nations LIVE - Scotland v England

• Scotland beat England 30-21 in the Six Nations at Murrayfield
• Duhan van der Merwe scored a hat-trick as Scotland win a historic fourth Calcutta Cup clash in a row
• FULL-TIME! Scotland 30-21 England
• 67’ - TRY! Spencer sets Feyi-Waboso through for his first England try (SCO 30-21 ENG)
• 46’ - TRY! Van der Merwe completes his hat-trick after great Russell kick (SCO 24-13 ENG)
• 30’ - TRY! Van der Merwe shows his pace after turnover for long-range score (SCO 14-10 ENG)
• 20’ - TRY! Van der Merwe crashes over for superb try (SCO 7-10)
• 6’ - TRY! Furbank finishes off efficient set-piece strike move (SCO 0-7 ENG)
• Gregor Townsend’s side lost 20-16 to France last time out after being denied a last minute try
• Steve Borthwick’s men have won both of their matches in the Six Nations so far but have not hit their best form

[24 February 2024 13:00 · Harry Latham-Coyle]

Scotland v England referee: Who is Six Nations official Andrew Brace?

Andrew Brace will referee Scotland vs England at Murrayfield in round three of the 2024 Six Nations.

Born in Cardiff, Brace represents the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) after a childhood spent between Wales and Ireland.

A former community rugby officer for Munster, the 35-year-old represented Belgium during a brief international playing career, qualifying for the country via his father’s family.

Match officials for Scotland vs England, Saturday 24 February (4.45pm GMT, Murrayfield)

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ire)

Assistant Referees: Chris Busby (Ire) & Eoghan Cross (Ire)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)

[24 February 2024 12:45 · Harry Latham-Coyle]

England’s Joe Marler fired up by sight of Scottish Calcutta Cup celebrations

Joe Marler is desperate to help England wrestle back the Calcutta Cup on Saturday after growing exasperated with Scotland’s recent dominance of the fixture.

The 33-year-old prop grew up in an era when the Red Rose firmly held the upper hand over the Scots and he was on the winning side four times in a row after first playing in the highly-charged showdown in 2014.

The tables have turned since 2018, however. Scotland have lost only one of their last six matches against the Auld Enemy under Gregor Townsend and go into this weekend’s match buoyed by having won each of the last three.

That situation rankles with Marler, who is intent on ensuring England are celebrating on enemy territory come Saturday evening.

“It would just be nice to be on the winning end of it for once because it has been so long since we have,” he said at Murrayfield on the eve of the match.

[24 February 2024 12:30 · Harry Latham-Coyle]

Courtney Lawes follows Owen Farrell to France after agreeing Brive switch

Courtney Lawes will ply his trade in France next season after agreeing a summer switch to Pro D2 club Brive.

Lawes concluded his England career at the end of last year’s Rugby World Cup and will now depart English rugby after completing a move to the second-tier French side.

It brings to a close a glittering career for the flanker at Northampton Saints, who had hoped to keep the 35-year-old at the club.

The back row has made 274 appearances across 17 seasons at Franklin’s Gardens and will hope to sign off with a trophy with Saints currently top of the Premiership.

Lawes admitted that making the decision to leave his boyhood club had been tough but the offer from Brive was “transformational” for his family.

[24 February 2024 12:15 · Mike Jones]

RFU ditches leaked plan to ‘sell Twickenham and buy half of Wembley’

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) drew up extraordinary plans to sell Twickenham and buy half of Wembley Stadium, leaked documents have revealed.

According to reports in the Times and the Daily Telegraph, the RFU explored the option of selling Twickenham as an alternative to spending £663m on redeveloping the 82,000-capacity stadium in south west London.

As part of the plans, the RFU explored the possibility of buying 50 per cent of Wembley and sharing the stadium with the English Football Association.

[24 February 2024 12:02 · Mike Jones]

Alfie Barbeary hoping to seize chance as England A face Portugal

There is one more fixture this weekend that we have not yet touched on, with the grand return of England’s ‘A’ side at Welford Road.

World Cup darlings Portugal are in Leicester for an intriguing encounter with a second-string squad chock full of bright young talents - with Alfie Barbeary one of England’s top prospects.

[24 February 2024 11:50 · Mike Jones]

Finn Russell relaxed about facing England’s blitz defence

Scotland talisman Finn Russell is unfazed by the prospect of being targeted by England’s new blitz defence in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown at Murrayfield.

The Red Rose have adopted a more aggressive approach for this year’s Guinness Six Nations after highly-regarded defence coach Felix Jones joined Steve Borthwick’s backroom team in the wake of helping South Africa win the World Cup.

England are expected to try to swarm stand-off Russell and his midfield colleagues in an effort to neutralise Scotland, but the 31-year-old has no issue with the possibility of being singled out.

[24 February 2024 11:37 · Mike Jones]

Scotland vs England talking points:

Another missed chance for Gregor Townsend’s side?

Gregor Townsend admitted that the history and emotion of a clash with England made it Scotland’s “most important game of the season”, but the head coach also knows that settling old scores is only part of the bigger picture.

A golden generation in the nation’s rugby history, epitomised by their fly-half genius Finn Russell, is in danger of passing without winning any silverware and after the injustice of seeing a late match-winning try disallowed against France in round two, they can not afford any more slip ups.

Time is running out for Russell’s Scotland to prove they are a serious team.

[24 February 2024 11:29 · Mike Jones]

Scotland vs England talking points:

George Furbank’s second coming

Steve Borthwick is capable of throwing curve balls in selection - think Marcus Smith at full-back, Alex Mitchell starting at scrum-half at the World Cup - and the latest example is George Furbank’s return at full-back.

Freddie Steward controls the air against any opposition but Borthwick has cast aside England’s safety blanket in favour of a more natural ball player who will provide a counter-attacking threat and greater mobility in defence.

Promoting Furbank is a bold call and even if the six caps won between 2020 to 2022 failed to provide compelling evidence of his Test pedigree, he is an exciting pick who has been on fire for Northampton this season.

[24 February 2024 11:18 · Mike Jones]

New dad Kyle Steyn keen to keep Calcutta Cup in Scotland’s hands

New father Kyle Steyn is intent on helping Scotland maintain their recent ownership of the Calcutta Cup this weekend after watching helplessly from his couch as his team-mates suffered an agonising Guinness Six Nations defeat against France last time out.

The Glasgow wing was named in the starting XV for the Murrayfield showdown with Les Bleus a week past Saturday, but he had to withdraw on the morning of the game after his wife Ally went into labour late on the Friday afternoon.

Steyn’s daughter, Arabella, eventually arrived via Caesarean section late on Monday morning, almost two days after the 20-16 defeat by France in which the Scots were controversially denied victory after the officials decided against awarding them a late try when Sam Skinner thought he had grounded the ball on the whitewash.

[24 February 2024 11:04 · Mike Jones]

Earl on pressure matches and facing Scotland

England’s Ben Earl says you have to love the pressure and intensity of test match rugby and what it takes to be successful against strong teams like Scotland.

“You have to love it. If you don’t love it, then you’re playing the wrong sport at the wrong level. I absolutely love it.” he said, “We’ve certainly spoken about the kind of Scotland are, what a good team they are, how good they are at home.

“It’s a tough place to play and we’ve definitely touched upon the trend of results over the last three or four years.

“But in terms of motivating factors, that’s one of many that we’ve got. We know the journey that we’re on as a team, in terms of what we’re trying to grow and evolve into. And that’s as much of a motivating factor as playing those guys.”