2 April 2000: Scotland 19-13 England
That bonkers 38-38 draw in 2019 clearly has to be up there. But the world’s oldest international fixture takes on a different complexion in even-numbered years. Edinburgh’s cold, malty air, the walk down past Haymarket (before the trams), the distant hills, the lone piper on the Murrayfield roof … the pre-match mood always recalls the glorious tartan-tinted newspaper intro from years back. “Can we do it? Aye, I think we can.” Even as a kid, watching the great Andy Irvine from afar, and then subsequently as a uni student in Edinburgh, the most memorable matches always involved England being sent homeward to think again. So I’m choosing the 2000 game, my Calcutta Cup debut as – pinch me – the Guardian’s rugby correspondent. The weather was utterly atrocious and a strongly fancied England side, hoping for a first grand slam since 1995, were flushed away by a slithering splashdown from an ecstatic Duncan Hodge, who scored all his side’s points. The next day’s exultant headline in the Daily Record – “Battlers 19 Bottlers 13!” – has also stood the test of time. Robert Kitson
16 March 2019: England 38-38 Scotland
Every journalist’s nightmare. This was a late kick-off, so because of print deadlines the order was a 900-word match report, to be filed on the final whistle. All you want in that situation is for the result to be obvious early. When England went 31-0 up after half an hour, things were looking good. Normally, with a whistle report of that length, at half-time you write a non-committal report of the first half, given you don’t know the result yet, only writing the intro when you do. But on this occasion it felt safe to start writing from the top after that fourth England try. Wales had won the grand slam earlier, scoring 10 tries, as many as last-placed Italy, but England, wow, try-scoring kings of 2019, etc, etc … Stuart McInally intercepted for Scotland’s first try at the end of the first half. No matter. Then Darcy Graham at the start of the second. Slight shift in seat. Magnus Bradbury on 50 minutes. First bead of sweat. Graham again, 31-24. Please no. When Finn Russell scored Scotland’s fourth on the hour, for the only time in my career, I pressed “select all; delete” and said goodbye to 500 words. Can’t tell you much about the last 20 minutes. Just writing. Something. Anything. Sam Johnson’s try gave Scotland the lead with five minutes to go. Unbelievable. Then, at the death, George Ford went over for England. Final score 38-38. Twickenham press box shellshocked. The rest of the stadium had just witnessed one of the great Tests. Michael Aylwin
17 March 1990: Scotland 13-7 England
You can’t tell the story of Scotland’s rivalry with England without telling the story of this match, the first, and last so far, in which the two teams were going head-to-head for a grand slam. David Sole’s slow walk out of the tunnel, Mike Teague fumbling ball off the back of a scrum, Gavin Hastings’ kick, Tony Stanger’s score in the corner, an against-the-odds victory set to the backdrop of the poll tax riots, and a great wave of outrage against the English establishment. It is all part of tournament lore now and it sustained the rivalry through the long stretches of the last three decades when the contest was often too one-sided to be truly compelling. Painful as it was for anyone supporting England, the game had something of everything that makes the tournament great, and there hasn’t been another Calcutta Cup match to touch it since. Andy Bull
24 February 2018: Scotland 25-13 England
A tunnel bust-up before kick-off, post-match celebrations that riled the losing side and the ending of a 10-year wait to lift the Calcutta Cup; there is already much to like about Scotland’s 25-13 victory over England in 2018 before we get on to that pass. The press seats at Murrayfield are off centre, affording an even better viewpoint for Finn Russell’s 20-yard floated pass, off his left hand, to Huw Jones. It was one of those moments where everything seemed to slow as the ball looped over a hapless Jonathan Joseph and into the hands of the onrushing Jones, who gathered without breaking stride. It was an all the more difficult pass to make with Jonny May lurking on the outside, but Scotland were over for their second try 30 seconds later. There was an unsavoury incident the next day when Eddie Jones was accosted by supporters at a train station, but this was a Calcutta Cup match high on drama and incident and all the better for it. Gerard Meagher
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16 March 2019: England 38-38 Scotland
I watched the match in a hospitality box with the former Scotland captain John Barclay. Such was England’s dominance, they were 31-7 up at half-time and had been 31-0 to the good. We had a conversation about beating the traffic and getting to the pub. We weren’t alone in making evening plans; Twickenham felt flat because England were in so much control. We only stayed because of the hospitality and then, all of a sudden, Finn Russell took matters into his own hands, Scotland were flying and Sam Johnson’s try – another peach of a score – gave them the lead. Twickenham could not believe what it was seeing. Then George Ford sneaks under for a last-gasp try and nails the conversion for a draw. Scotland’s victory the year before is a close second, purely because of Russell’s pass to Huw Jones. The vision, the bravery, the trajectory and the accuracy: it has to go down as one of the greatest passes in Six Nations history. Ugo Monye
8 February 2020: Scotland 6-13 England
The 38-38 draw in 2019 is an obvious choice, while in terms of obvious appeal England’s 13-6 victory at Murrayfield a year later is at the opposite end of the scale. So let’s give that one a go. In England’s back row, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill excelled in what the filthy weather determined would be a wrestling match, while Maro Itoje’s dominance at lock was another item of evidence in the dossier supporting his case for the captaincy. England’s success, based on good old forward grunt, seems ever more significant as they wait for another victory against Gregor Townsend’s side. From a personal perspective writing player ratings for a match that consisted of a pile of soaking bodies for 80 minutes was a challenge. If Saturday’s starting back row – Curry, Ben Earl and Tom Willis – deliver their best for Steve Borthwick, you suspect England’s wait could be over. Luke McLaughlin
