Scotland host England in Round 3 of the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Saturday and the Scots start as the bookmakers favourites
Scotland v England, Saturday 24th February, Edinburgh, KO 18:45 (South African time)
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Chris Busby (IRFU), Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Weather Forecast - Edinburgh
Scotland
Scotland went down 20-16 to France in controversial circumstances at Murrayfield in Round 2. They led 13-10 after a first half they had by far the better of but France eventually got in front on the scoreboard with a 70th minute try. Scotland then had what they believed was the winning try chalked off by the TMO right at the death and they had to settle for a losing bonus point.
Scotland opened up with a 27-26 victory over Wales in Cardiff. They went into half time 20-0 up and the lead was extended to 27-0 early in the second half. Cue an amazing Welsh fightback and Scotland had to hang on at the death.
In the 6 Nations last year Scotland beat England 29-23 at Twickenham whilst in 2022 they edged the English out 20-17 at Murrayfield and now go in search of third straight 6N victory over their rivals.
In the outright betting markets with BoyleSports Scotland are currently 22/1 to win the title, 10/1 for the Triple Crown and they can also be backed at around 9/2 to finish in the top 2.
Fixtures & Results: R1 Wales (a) won 27-26, R2 France (h) lost 20-16, R3 England (h), R4 Italy (a), R5 Ireland (a)
England
England had to dig deep and rely on the boot of George Ford to grind out a 16-14 home win over Wales in Round 2. They started the game as 11.5 point favourites on the main handicap line but were 14-5 down at half time and Ford's 72nd minute penalty was the final score and settled the match.
England opened up their tournament against Italy in Rome, they were around 14.5 point favourites on the handicap but trailed 17-14 at half time before second half improvement saw them edge the contest 27-24.
As far as the current 6N standings are concerned Ireland lead the way with the maximum 10 log points, England are second with 8, Scotland third with 5 and then comes France with 4, Wales with 3 and Italy with 1.
In the outright betting markets with BoyleSports England are currently 83/10 second favourites to win the title, 9/2 for the Triple Crown and 10/1 to land a Grand Slam. They can also be backed at around 2/1 for a top 2 finish.
Fixtures & Results: R1 Italy (a) won 27-24, R2 Wales (h) won 16-14, R3 Scotland (a), R4 Ireland (h), R5 France (a)
Team News
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (co-captain), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (co-captain), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Andy Christie, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath.
England: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 George Martin, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
Head to Head (6 Nations Only)
2023 6N Twickenham England 23-29 Scotland (Tries 3-4 )
2022 6N Edinburgh Scotland 20-17 England (Tries 2-1)
2021 6N Twickenham England 6-11 Scotland (Tries 0-1)
2020 6N Edinburgh Scotland 6-13 England (Tries 0-1)
2019 6N Twickenham England 38-38 Scotland (Tries 5-6)
2018 6N Edinburgh Scotland 25-13 England (Tries 3-1)
2017 6N Twickenham England 61-21 Scotland (Tries 7-3)
2016 Edinburgh Scotland 9-15 England (Tries 0-2)
The Betting
Scotland -4.5 points at 9/10 widely available
England +4.5 points at 9/10 widely available
Note, odds quoted are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
When this handicap first came out it was a virtual choice game, but money has come for Scotland and they are currently -4.5.
My guests on last night’s THE HANDICAP, our Rugby Betting Show had different views on this one and I must admit that I am struggling for a confident play. The total points line appears to have settled around 42.5 and I am tempted by overs, especially given the way Scotland play, but at the same time I can see this developing into a real arm wrestle.
While I can understand Scotland starting favourites, I have a feeling that England are building to something special and I am going to back them to beat this handicap.
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BET: 4 Units, England +4.5 at 9/10 at Hollywood*
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Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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