Scotland take on England with unfamiliar favourite’s mantle

This year just happens to be the 1,900th anniversary of the building of Hadrian’s Wall and it feels almost as long since English rugby fans headed north with so much apprehension. While the Calcutta Cup “only” dates back to 1879, Scotland have rarely been as fancied to retain the venerable trophy or inflict successive Six Nations defeats on their neighbours for the first time in 38 years.

The weather is slightly ominous, too. While Met Office forecasts have improved since AD122, when the emperor Hadrian sought to protect the Roman empire by constructing a 73-mile barrier between the Tyne and the Solway Firth, some things never change. Let’s just say few would choose to be erecting much, or catching rugby balls, in the heavy rain and gusty winds reportedly heading Murrayfield’s way.

Foul conditions are not exactly alien to this fixture and England did just about manage to see off Storm Ciara and Scotland at Murrayfield two years ago. This time it could be that the worst of the tempest will have passed through by kick-off but a settled, ambitious Scotland side, having triumphed at Twickenham 12 months ago, have it in them to unleash a devastating storm of their own making.

If the burden of favouritism has never sat comfortably on dark blue shoulders, there are good reasons why Gregor Townsend’s side should not be taken lightly. They have a generous sprinkling of Lions, increasing depth and, in Finn Russell, a potential matchwinner in any company. England, by contrast, lack some totemic figures, with more than half their reshuffled starting XV about to played their first Tests in Scotland. Two years ago young Freddie Steward featured in the U20s fixture at a chilly Myreside but a packed, hostile Murrayfield will be a wholly