Saturday 14th February will see England Men take on Scotland Men in 144th edition of the Calcutta Cup in the second round of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations.

The first meeting of these two nations, which was also the first ever international rugby union fixture, took place in 1871 at the Raeburn Place in Edinburgh.

The match in 1871 was watched by around 4,000 spectators, with Scotland taking home the victory by two tries and a goal to England’s single try.

On the legacy of the 1871 match, journalist and historian Richard Bath said: “It was the first time that a match had been played across borders, and they had different laws at the time, so they had to codify the laws so there were various things; for instance, they agreed on playing 20 a side.”

“It was the first time that they had actual shirts, so this was a new thing, and obviously that happened from then on. Everybody thinks of Scotland as being blue and England as being white, but actually that came from this game.”

However, this weekend, the match will be different than the 1871 version, with one of the biggest changes being the match’s viewership, as over 24 million fans tuned in for Round 1 of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations last week.

Another major change in the fixture is the inclusion of the oldest trophy in world rugby, the Calcutta Cup, which wasn’t competed for between England and Scotland until 1879.

On the Calcutta Cup, Roy Mack, a coaching legend in Edinburgh, said, “It’s the oldest rugby trophy in the world. The Calcutta story is wonderful, with the rupees being taken out of the bank to keep the name Calcutta alive. That in itself is a wonderful story – just how that came about.”

“I think for rugby people it’s everything in Scotland. I must admit, as a tour guide, to have it on display was a huge draw; people came to see that particular trophy, so yes, it’s a big deal.”

Ahead of the 2026 match between the two home nations, Scotland will be looking to bounce back from a 15-18 defeat to Italy, while England will be looking to remain unbeaten in the M6N after a 48-7 victory over Wales.

Scotland and England’s 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations round 2 fixture will return to Edinburgh, this time at Murrayfield Stadium, and will take place at 4:40 on Saturday 14th February.