Scotland team to face England and four changes Gregor Townsend could make - including Calcutta Cup hero

England come to town on Saturday for the Calcutta Cup clash. While Steve Borthwick’s men have lost on their past two visits to Edinburgh, they are on a 12-match winning streak and are one of the favourites to finish top of the pile come March 14.

Certainly, after crushing Wales 48-7 at Twickenham to start their campaign, they arrive at Murrayfield as favourites to retain the trophy they won in London a year ago.

After Scotland’s woe in Rome, head coach Gregor Townsend is under enormous pressure and scrutiny over his position.

Coaching changes very rarely occur during the Six Nations, although Wales and Warren Gatland did part company during one of the fallow weeks last year. But given Townsend’s impressive record in the England fixture - five wins, one draw and two defeats - it is very hard to envisage Scottish Rugby, who have been so steadfastly behind the 52-year-old, pulling the trigger this week.

The alterations are likely to come in the starting XV. We take a look at some of the changes Townsend could make:

The hooker issue

Ewan Ashman will not look back at his Saturday afternoon in Rome with much fondness. He lost five lineouts, gave away a penalty and was taken off after 49 minutes. Such throwing failures can be given some slight mitigation by the treacherously wet and slippy conditions but even still, this was a poor performance from Scotland’s first-choice hooker.

Ashman was replaced by the experienced George Turner, although he was given a yellow card for making head contact in a ruck. While the lineout performed slightly better with Turner throwing the ball, his indiscipline was costly for Scotland.

Ashman is the more dynamic of the pair in the loose. He is one of Scotland’s chief try threats and Townsend may be reluctant to lose that against England. Nevertheless, a strong lineout - traditionally where the Scots have excelled under the head coach - is required in a Calcutta Cup match.

It would be no surprise to see Ashman drop to the bench, but who takes his place? Turner was preferred to Dave Cherry on the bench but that could well have been fitness-related. Cherry came into camp nursing an injury from his time at his club Vannes. However he is expected to be available for selection.

Cherry has dipped in and out of the Scotland set-up under Townsend. He is a reliable, accurate hooker - the traits Townsend may want as he aims to stabilise the lineout.

Locking it in

Scotland’s go-to second row pairing is often Scott Cummings and Grant Gilchrist. A British and Irish Lion, Cummings is in the form of his career with Glasgow Warriors. There have been calls though for 35-year-old Gilchrist to make way, especially as he is part of an under-performing Edinburgh Rugby side.

Townsend was quick to defend Gilchrist last week. He has been capped 85 times by Scotland is a powerful, influential presence in the Scotland pack.

He also runs the lineout, a badge of honour normally - until last weekend.

It would be a bold call to jettison Gilchrist for a match of such magnitude, but there are a posse of younger, in-form locks who some want to see given their chance.

There is no surprise that there’s a heavy Glasgow presence. Max Williamson (23), Gregor Brown (24) and Alex Craig (28) have all done well for Warriors this season. Jonny Gray, currently at French giants Bordeaux-Begles, played for Scotland A last week but also has legitimate claims to be involved.

Townsend has plenty of options. It’s whether he decides to stick with the tried and trusted or put fresh faces in against some formidable English opposition.

Wing kings

Townsend’s decision to leave out top tryscorers Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham out of his first XV against Italy caught the eye. For years they have been the main men on flanks. Between them they have 69 tries in the record books.

However, many onlookers agreed with the decision. Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie have been in excellent form for Glasgow and merited their chance. The problem is that they didn’t take it. Steyn was defensively complicit for Italy’s first try and Dobie was beaten in the air for the second. Neither made a real impact in attack.

Graham came on for Dobie towards the end and did his prospects no harm. Van der Merwe, who has had a rough season to date, was left out of the matchday squad entirely. Yet he has a formidable record against England. Seven tries in total - including a hat-trick at Murrayfield in 2024.

Van der Merwe’s tackling and aerial aptitude are often questioned, but he is a player England fear. It would be no shock to see him return.

Kinghorn v Jordan

Blair Kinghorn was left out of the 23 for Italy and Tom Jordan took his place at full-back. Jordan was actually one of Scotland’s better players, especially in the air, although like Steyn he was caught out positionally for the opening try. Some would argue he has done little to be dropped.

The problem for Jordan is that Kinghorn is an athletic specimen, powerful and rapid, a Lion who plays for one of the best teams in the world for Toulouse. Fatigue was one of the main reasons for leaving him out of the team in Rome. Potentially Townsend has him in mind for England.

If Scotland want to be on the front foot, then starting Kinghorn feels like a viable option. He can also cover wing and stand-off; certainly there is a strong argument for the 29-year-old to be on the bench at least.

My Scotland team to play England: B Kinghorn; D van der Merwe, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, D Graham; F Russell, B White; P Schoeman, G Turner, Z Fagerson, S Cummings, G Gilchrist, M Fagerson, R Darge, J Dempsey.

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