Greatest Calcutta Cup matches

History suggests Saturday's clash between England and Scotland should be an epic battle between two old foes.

There have been some classic Calcutta Cup encounters since the first, a 3-3 draw in 1879, and although the victory tally stands at 68-42 in England's favour, with 18 draws, plenty of upsets have been recorded.

Here are five of the best matches to whet the appetite for the teams' first clash on neutral territory:

1926: England's proud record falls to uppity Scots

Scotland inflicted England's first ever defeat by a home nation at Twickenham with a 17-9 win.

Other than the final score, the game was notable for the refusal by the Scots to wear numbers on their shirts, as requested by King George V, replying that "this is a rugby match and not a cattle sale".

1974: Irvine's last-gasp winner

A 45-yard penalty kick by Andy Irvine sealed a narrow win for the Scots at Murrayfield, prompting an indiscreet leap of joy by the Scottish touch judge.

Irvine had missed the chance after only 18 minutes to put Scotland 12 points clear and England came back to lead twice in the second half before the late conversion earned him his 12th point of the match in a 16-14 win.

Andy Irvine pictured playing for the British Lions

1980: Beaumont the hero

England ended a long barren spell with a Calcutta Cup win at Murrayfield that brought them the Grand Slam and their first Five Nations Championship since 1963.

Captain Bill Beaumont was chaired off the Murrayfield turf after the game but it was a hat-trick from John Carleton, the first by an England player since Herbert Jacob achieved the feat against France in 1924, that helped England to a 30-18 win in Edinburgh.

Bill Beaumont runs the ball in a Six Nations match

1990: Grand Slam decider

With both sides on three wins apiece, this was the Five Nations Grand Slam decider. Led by David Sole, the Scots famously walked slowly out on to the Murrayfield pitch before the game to send the crowd into a frenzy.

It obviously affected England skipper Will Carling as well, as he made some inexplicable decisions to go for tries when kickable penalties were on offer. A Tony Stanger try and some poor goal-kicking from Simon Hodgkinson enabled Scotland to claim a 13-7 win, and the Grand Slam to boot.
 

David Sole leads the Scots out to take on the Auld Enemy

2000: Dawson's up the creek

When Lawrence Dallaglio easily ploughed over the line early on at Murrayfield, it looked as though the first Six Nations Championship would bring England a Grand Slam.

It didn't. As the rain lashed down, England, minus Martin Johnson, floundered, and Duncan Hodge's try helped the Scots, who adapted superbly to the conditions, to a 19-13 win.

After the game, shell-shocked England captain Matt Dawson forgot to go up the Murrayfield steps to collect the Six Nations trophy from the Princess Royal, leaving Scotland skipper Andy Nicol bloodied but unbowed, to raise the Calcutta Cup to the delight of the sodden home crowd.