England vs. Scotland: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Six Nations 2015 Preview
England are aiming to jump-start their Six Nations campaign against Scotland this Saturday after defeat to Ireland in Week 3 saw Stuart Lancaster's side lose momentum in their title chase.
The Twickenham hosts will hope to see Wales slow the table leaders in Cardiff and need to lay down a marker of their own in the Calcutta Cup clash with Vern Cotter's Scots.
Saturday's visitors have lost their last five consecutive meetings with England and haven't triumphed at Twickenham in 32 years, but they will look to this Week 4 encounter as the ideal setting to earn their first points of the competition.
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Read on for full viewing information ahead of Saturday's tie, along with key talking points moving into the penultimate round of this year's Six Nations.
Date: Saturday, March 14
Time: 5 p.m. GMT/1 p.m. ET
Live Stream: BBC Sport website (UK), SuperSport stream (SA)
TV Info: BBC One (UK), SuperSport 1 (SA)
Finn Russell's Timely Return
George Ford was unable to exercise his usual vice grip in Dublin a fortnight ago but Scotland's defence shouldn't bring the same crushing pressure down on the England fly-half.
After serving his suspension, Finn Russell comes back into the Scotland XV as a major asset, however, and the Glasgow Warriors star spoke to the Scotsman (h/t the official Six Nations website) this week regarding his motivation ahead of Saturday's collision:
"We will definitely be the underdogs at the weekend. We haven't won down there in 32 years so it's quite a while. But I think that Scotland are underdogs quite a lot of the time when they play games.
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On the pitch it's 15 against 15 and there is everything to play for. If we manage put in the performance that we know we can then we could get the result this week. If the bounce of the ball goes our way, then you never know.
The bounce of the ball will be of particular concern to Russell, as he and half-back partner Greig Laidlaw look to strike up another fine tandem and unleash the weapons in Cotter's back line.
At his peak, Ford is emerging as one of the standout fly-halves in world rugby and has brought an encouraging consistency to Lancaster's No. 10 jersey.
Fitness permitted, he and Russell will be the first-choice fly-halves for their respective nations at this year's World Cup and here is another chance for Russell in particular to prove he belongs with the best.
The coach will in no way have flinched in his loyalty to the Bath playmaker following the Week 3 defeat, but Ford spoke to Mark Coughlan of Sport Magazine of the team's need to bounce back with a better display against the Scots:
"It’s very passionate. Every England versus Scotland game will be. But, yeah, it comes down to the rugby side—so we’ve just got to get everything right and beat them on the field. Every team that plays against England wants to beat us, so we’re just trying to get better on the rugby side and get our own house in order first.
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England have conceded early in all three of their Six Nations outings this year, and Russell will be eager to take any kicking opportunities provided to him in the opening exchanges at Twickenham.
However, achieving an 80-minute display has been and remains Scotland's key concern in their evolution, and in that Russell has a huge responsibility to ensure they maintain a foothold in the fixture.
Vern Cotter Chasing Calcutta Cup Lifeline
As the only team in the competition yet to claim a single point, Scotland have something to prove against the English—not that many are expecting it to be proven.
Coming into the tournament, the notion was that Scotland were advancing well under Cotter and the Kiwi coach insisted as much in the wake of their defeat to the Azzurri, per Planet Rugby's Jamie Lyall:
Positive signs are still there that Scotland are unearthing a more creative stride in attack and cutting out chances on a more frequent scale, but this test against England will serve as a barometer of their mental toughness as much as the physical.
Now is the time for Scotland to dust themselves down and show they're ready to step out of the Six Nations shadows, although England will be no hospitable hosts in allowing them to do so.
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