Scotland v England is the oldest fixture in international rugby. The first international rugby game was played in March 1871 between two teams of twenty players representing Scotland and England respectively, and held in Edinburgh.

Since then, the game of rugby has changed dramatically. For a start, a scoring system had not been devised for the first international game, and rugby union has not been contested by teams of twenty since 1877, when the now recognisable structure of fifteen-a-side was introduced. However, the significance of the fixture has only intensified since that first match.

I want to look at the history of the match-up in recent times, and why it still remains to be the greatest game in international rugby (no matter what some Australians and New Zealanders may say).

The fixture has many famous games and moments from throughout the decades, which still permeate through time and into each fixture between the two nations. Although there isn't much information about the fixture before the 1990s, it would seem that Scotland and England were relatively evenly matched, with the 1950s being a period of dominance for the English, and the 1970s seeing the Scots dominate the English in the fixture (and the Welsh rugby team dominate everything else). Since then, Scotland has found itself on the losing side more often than not, due to the emergence of some truly legendary English players and teams from the 1980s onwards. However, I want to look at the 1990s and 2000s to examine some of the great games between the two oldest rugby nations on Earth.

The 1990s started off with, arguably, the two most remembered and highly regarded match-ups between the two nations. In 1990, Scotland and England met at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in the final round of fixtures of the 1990 Five Nations Championship, knowing that the winner of that game would be crowned Grand Slam Champions. In the run-up to the game, the media and rugby world at large believed that England would easily win, due to the barnstorming manner in which they had breezed past Ireland, France and Wales. Scotland were massive underdogs, and had battled out narrow victories against the Welsh and Irish, looking formidable only against the French. The English had been supremely confident, but Scottish Captain, David Sole, was to highlight the Scot's defiance by deliberately walking his team slowly out on to the field, something which is remembered to this day. David Sole would later say that it was the equivalent to that Scottish side as performing the Haka is to the All Blacks. 1990 also marked the first year that 'Flower of Scotland' was used as the National Anthem for the Scottish Rugby Team, something which, it could be argued, gave the Scots another psychological advantage over the English. Both sides possessed some truly great players who are now seen as among the greatest in each nation's history. England had players such as: Will Carling, Richard Hill, Rob Andrew, Jeremy Guscott, Rory Underwood and Brian Moore, whilst Scotland had players such as: David Sole, John Jeffrey, Finlay Calder, Craig Chalmers, Sean Lineen, Gavin and Scott Hastings, and Tony Stanger. In the end, Scotland won 13-7 and earned their third ever Grand Slam, whilst the English were left to mull over their defeat.

The early 1990s saw another great match between Scotland and England the following year, at the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Scotland and England met in the semi-finals (yes, Scotland did actually make the semi-finals) at Murrayfield once again. Scotland fielded an almost exact replica of the team that had crushed English hopes of a Grand Slam the previous year, but with the inclusion of the tartan-trousered second row Doddie Weir. England too played almost the same team, but with, now legendary, prop Jason Leonard. In a game dominated exclusively by kicking, Gavin Hastings missed penalty would prove to be fatal, and England were able to exact some revenge on the Scots by denying them a place in the Rugby World Cup Final. The English would go on to win all the other games between themselves and Scotland throughout the 1990s, even beating Scotland in 1999, the year that Scotland won their most recent Championship in the final ever Five Nations.

The 2000s series of Calcutta Cup games started off well for Scotland, as they beat England in 2000, but, in the following years until 2006, England heavily defeated Scotland using a team that would win the Rugby World Cup in 2003. 2006 marked the first Scottish victory over England since 2000, when Chris Paterson kicked all of Scotland’s 18 points in a tense and nervy game in Edinburgh. This game also saw the closing of the gap between Scotland and England, and ensuring that most Calcutta Cup games since have been very unpredictable, despite England putting forty-two points past the Scots in 2007, but with Scotland beating England again in 2008. In 2009 and 2011, England achieved narrow victories over Scotland at Twickenham but, in 2010 at Murrayfield, Scotland and England battled out to a draw.

2011 also saw England and Scotland meeting in the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Again, this game highlighted the recent trend for tight match-ups between the two nations, with England scoring a late try to secure victory against the Scots.

So now I look forward to the opening fixture of the Six Nations at Murrayfield on February 4th. This match, as with recent games, is very hard to predict. It will be the first game for England's Interim Head Coach, Stuart Lancaster, after Martin Johnson's resignation in November. England will also be without enforced retiree Steve Thompson and former captain Mike Tindall, who has been banned from the England Squad after his behaviour at the Rugby World Cup. However, the team selected by Stuart Lancaster is seen as being the right group of players, who are all in excellent form at the highest level of club rugby, with Harlequins' Chris Robshaw captaining the side in only his second cap. Number 8 Phil Dowson, centres Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt will make their first appearance for England, whilst hooker Rob Webber, second row Geoff Parling, scrum-half Lee Dickson, and centre Jordan Turner-Hall could all make their debuts from the bench.

Scotland have selected a team which many expected. The much-maligned Dan Parks will be at fly-half, with the in-form Edinburgh fly-half, Greg Laidlaw coming off the bench. Meanwhile, debutant Lee Jones will start on the wing, and David Denton will make his first start at number 8. Scotland are, of course, without leading pointscorer Chris Paterson who has retired from international rugby, and will be presented to the Murrayfield crowd before kick-off. Andy Robinson will seek to prove a massive point in his third Six Nations as Scotland Head Coach. That point is that he has failed to steer Scotland to any real results in competitive rugby, despite improved performances and two historic victories in Autumn Tests against Australia and South Africa.

So, to summarise, Scotland have a very experienced squad, with several very talented and promising youngsters coming through, whilst England have a relatively inexperienced squad, and many players in great form at club level. England may still be feeling the effects of their poor World Cup and the disruption that came from the aftermath of said World Cup. I will, I'm afraid dear reader, have to sit on the fence and proclaim that I cannot be certain as to who will lift that old trophy aloft when the referee blows the final whistle. My gut feeling would be that Scotland could capitalise on England's lack of experience and achieve a tight victory with a well-knit and increasingly talented team. However, I am a passionate Scotland supporter, so I realise that my opinion may well be extremely biased.

As far as the Calcutta Cup game itself; I believe that it continues to be the most passionate and important game in international rugby. Both the English and the Scots see winning the game as being the pinnacle of any season, even if they have a poor Six Nations as a whole. I'm sure the Welsh and Irish might disagree with me, and proclaim their respective games against the English as being the biggest match in international rugby, but I firmly believe that it is fitting that Scotland v England holds its place as the oldest and greatest fixture in international rugby.