Ben Earl reveals England are taking inspiration from last year’s Calcutta Cup

Ben Earl has revealed England have been referencing the end of their Calcutta Cup slump last year to help overturn another unwanted statistic against Scotland.

Steve Borthwick’s team are seeking their first victory at Murrayfield since 2020 when they run out for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash between the international game’s oldest rivals.

Scotland have dominated the fixture over the last eight years, winning five times and drawing once, and it was only in 2025 that England were able to wrestle back control of the Calcutta Cup having seen it return to Edinburgh in 2021.

A grim 16-15 triumph at Allianz Stadium was the second step on their current 12-Test winning run and Earl insists it was a crucial turning point.

“Funnily enough, we’ve watched it back a couple of times over the last couple of weeks for a number of different reasons, seeing how far we’ve come as a team but also what being outsmarted tactically can look like,” he said.

“That game was the epitome of winning ugly. Scotland for the most part tactically outplayed us. A lot of the boys have said they’ve learned a huge amount from that fixture and have kicked on from there.

“We felt we got dragged into an arm wrestle that we didn’t know how to, or weren’t well equipped enough, to break out of.

“It was in and around the ruck area, the kicking game, the territory battle – an oddity of different things. But we feel like we’ve now got the tools to deal with a number of different things.

“We’ve had a couple of ugly wins along the way since then, but we feel like we’re finding ways to win games of rugby.

“We feel well equipped to handle any kind of different game. We’re in a good place tactically.”

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has billed Saturday’s showdown as his side’s “biggest game of the season”, not only because of the identity of the opposition but also due to their surprise defeat by Italy a week ago.

Earl believes the ambush in Rome makes the Scots even more dangerous foes.

“We know that this game has got something special about it,” the Saracens number eight said. “I can’t imagine there’s going to be a lack of hunger from either side, so hopefully it’s a great spectacle for everyone.

“I can’t speak on their behalf, but I know what a wounded animal can look like – it wasn’t too long ago that we were losing games and trying to bounce back.

“The last time we were here two years ago, we learnt a lot about ourselves, we learnt a lot about Scotland and what a hostile environment Murrayfield can be for us.

“It’s another challenge where we’re going to be tested, questions are going to be asked of us and we’re going to have to find ways to work our way out of it. It’s massive for us.”