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Scotland 31-20 England: Steve Borthwick’s side see their 12-match winning run come to a crashing halt as pressure eased on Gregor Townsend by scintillating Scottish win
Harry Latham-Coyle at Murrayfield & Luke BakerSaturday 14 February 2026 19:32 GMT- Bookmark
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CloseEngland’s Six Nations rout of Wales ‘a platform to kick on from’Scotland stunned England with a brilliant 31-20 Calcutta Cup triumph to belatedly kickstart their Six Nations in style and bring England’s 12-match winning run to a crashing halt at Murrayfield
Edinburgh has been no happy place for visiting English teams of late and Steve Borthwick’s side endured another day to forget as they found themselves 17-0 down before getting out of the changing room and Henry Arundell’s first-half red card for two yellows only compounded the problems.
They never properly got back within striking distance after that as Gregor Townsend brushed off the growing scrutiny surrounding his job to immediately banish memories of Scotland’s Rome debacle a week ago, as Huw Jones’ try double and scores for Jamie Ritchie and Ben White ensured an ultimately comfortable win.
Kyle Steyn was brilliant in the back three, Finn Russell had moments of magic in the first half especially and the Scots looked nothing like the side that were humiliatingly undone by Italy just seven days prior. Townsend will hope this can inspire sustained excellence for the rest of the championship rather than just being another flash-in-the-pan win over an England team who have developed something of a hoodoo against the Auld Enemy over the past decade.
Relive all the action from Murrayfield with our live blog below:
Scotland vs England live
- Brilliant Scotland beat England 31-20 to reclaim Calcutta Cup in style and belatedly kickstart Six Nations campaign
- REPORT: Scotland stun England as Calcutta Cup horror show brings winning run to a shuddering halt
- 53' - TRY! Jones streaks clear after Ford has drop goal blocked (SCO 31-13 ENG)
- 38' - RED CARD! Arundell sent off for second yellow card after clattering Steyn in the air (SCO 24-10 ENG)
- 28' - TRY! White capitalises after Genge calamity trying to dive on loose ball (SCO 24-10 ENG)
- 22' - TRY! Arundell trots over under the posts to get England on the board (SCO 17-7 ENG)
- 14' - TRY! Ritchie over in the corner as hosts continue to dominate (SCO 17-0 ENG)
- 10' - TRY! Jones surges over in the corner to cement Scotland's brilliant start (SCO 10-0 ENG)
Maro Itoje: 'We have to lick our wounds'
England’s captain Maro Itoje was understandably disappointed after that defeat but says his side have no choice but to lick their wounds and get back to it
Luke Baker14 February 2026 19:32"We'll have to lick our wounds and get back."England captain Maro Itoje speaks with Topsy Ojo after England's loss against Scotland🎙️ @topsy_ojo pic.twitter.com/Zj4gUxOnyR
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) February 14, 2026
Steve Borthwick reacts to the defeat
“We are bitterly disappointed,” the England head coach says. “Huge credit to the Scotland team who played really well today. They got the advantage of those loose balls that came off the aerial contest. Playing such a huge part of the game without a winger against a team moving the ball so well to the edge, that hurt us.
“I think in that first 20 minutes, to concede the points we conceded and go down, was disappointing. Were gave them too much of a headstart and gave ourselves too much to do today. Playing 30 minutes of that first 50 with 14 men hurt us.
“There will be some areas, clearly, where we have to review. We spent a lot of time in the opposition 22 and had a lot of chances down that end of the field. We have to look at that and go, ‘what can we do better?’.”
Harry Latham-Coyle14 February 2026 19:21All sweetness and light for Scotland?
Is everything all hunky dory in the Scotland camp now? All issues forgotten? Perhaps not but this win certainly helps!
(REUTERS)Luke Baker14 February 2026 19:16Gregor Townsend praises 'some of the best rugby we've ever played'
The under-fire Gregor Townsend was understandably thrilled with the Scotland performance and didn’t hold back in his praise.
Townsend told ITV: “I think I was just so proud of the way we played tonight.
“After 20 minutes I thought that was some of the best rugby we've every played. It’s all you want as a coach and then to see the effort in the second half, we became a team that would fight for each other and the supporters.
“A special mention to our supporters. We’ve given them something to shout about for the next 12 months.
“We know that rugby brings out the best in us, being very aggressive and playing at speed. I thought that was one of Finn Russell's best games for Scotland and the work rate of our forwards was superb.
“There’s so many games that you play well but the opposition play well too and they can get narrow wins or come back and win. We know we're up there with the teams we come up against, sometimes you can’t get the win but we’re really pleased we got it today.
“The players can share the joy with their families, they can enjoy having the trophy in the changing room but we're back on it next week and we go to Cardiff to build on what we did today.”
(Getty Images)Luke Baker14 February 2026 19:07Scotland lift the Calcutta Cup
More Calcutta Cup joy for Scotland in Edinburgh. They have come to dominate this fixture in recent time.
(REUTERS)
(Jane Barlow/PA Wire)Luke Baker14 February 2026 18:48Scotland stun England as Calcutta Cup horror show brings winning run to a shuddering halt
Consider the Calcutta Cup form books once again tossed out of the window. What is it about this fixture, what is it about this Scotland side?
After defeat to Italy, Gregor Townsend’s tenure and team had seemed listless, almost lifeless, an emptying vessel; we will find out what restorative effect a few sups of sweet spirit from the Calcutta Cup can have after a dismantling of England that no one saw coming.
Add another Murrayfield horror show to England’s haunting recent history. The Calcutta Cup has provided a few dark days for recent visitors here but never anything quite like this, a side who bounced up over the border on a run of 12 consecutive victories sent home to think again.
Defeat may not be terminal to their Six Nations chances but the prospect of a grand slam charge, which seemed realistic ahead of kick off, swirled swiftly away into the crisp Edinburgh skies.
Read Harry Latham-Coyle’s full report from Murrayfield:
Scotland stun England to bring winning run to a halt in Calcutta Cup horror show
Scotland 31-20 England: England’s 12-match unbeaten run was ended in some style by the hosts at MurrayfieldLuke Baker14 February 2026 18:43FULL-TIME! Scotland 31-20 England
The ball is booted out and SCOTLAND WIN THE CALCUTTA CUP.
They made a flying start and dominated England today. They were absolutely superb. What a response to last week’s Italy debacle.
England’s long winning run comes to an end and dare we say France will be cracking a smile this evening.
(Steve Welsh/PA Wire)Luke Baker14 February 2026 18:31Scotland 31-20 England, 80 mins
England dreaming of a losing bonus point? That probably won’t happen now as they knock on - a 10th handling error of the day - shortly after the kick-off.
Scotland will run this clock down and kick the ball out.
Luke Baker14 February 2026 18:29TRY! Scotland 31-20 England (Ben Earl, 78 mins)
Consolation for England and Ben Earl has his try. He’s been England’s best player today.
Pollock busts down the right wing to set England up before the ball is worked all the way across and a long pass out to Earl on the left touchline to rumble across the line.
Good conversion by Ford to narrow the gap further but there will be no comeback today.
Luke Baker14 February 2026 18:28Scotland 31-13 England, 77 mins
England win the scrum and this is a golden chance for a second try. Earl goes the long way round from the back and surges towards the line on the right.
But gutsy defence and he’s held up over the line! Great stuff again from the Scots.
(AFP via Getty Images)Luke Baker14 February 2026 18:26Newer1 / 9OlderMore about
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