Desperate Scotland playing to keep Six Nations alive - and England told about unlucky 13

The Scotland captain may not have been raised on Calcutta Cup tales of derring-do but he knows all about the importance of the fixture in the Scottish psyche.

He also appreciates that Saturday’s match against England at Murrayfield has the potential to make or break the hosts’ Six Nations campaign.

Last weekend’s wretched defeat by Italy in monsoon conditions in Rome has left the Scots playing catch-up after round one and Tuipulotu didn’t play down the significance of the latest instalment of Test rugby’s oldest game.

“We're playing for our championship tomorrow, there's no doubt about that,” said the skipper who will win his 35th cap. “You can't lose two games in a Six Nations and expect to be in contention at the back end. So, yeah, we're a desperate team at the moment, and I want to see that desperation in the players.”

England come north emboldened by a winning streak which reached a dozen games with last week’s trouncing of Wales at Twickenham. They are a team with designs on the championship and most pundits expect their final fixture against France in Paris next month to be a title decider.

By contrast, Scotland, are, in the words of Tom Waits, on the crest of a slump. The Six Nations could not have got off to a worse start for Gregor Townsend’s side who went into the match in Rome at full strength and confident of atoning for a poor autumn campaign. An error-strewn performance at the Stadio Olimpico saw Italy win 18-15, adding to the pressure on Townsend whose team were booed off when they lost to Argentina in November.

“I understand that the fixtures have been disappointing, to say the least, over the last three, four [games], even leading back into the autumn,” said Tuipulotu, who turned 29 on Thursday. “But we've got to remember that we're the ones in the changing room, and we've got to stick together through this time.”

England’s unlucky 13?

Tuipulotu knows all about sport’s capricious nature and referenced England’s five-game losing run of 2024 as evidence that things can change pretty quickly in international rugby. Things turned for Steve Borthwick’s side when they edged out France 26-25 in the second round of last season’s Six Nations. They have won every game since and are odds-on favourites to emerge victorious at Murrayfield on Saturday. But Tuipulotu believes Scotland can make it unlucky 13 for England.

“It’s quite funny, looking back at England's journey to the last Six Nations, they lost their opening game of the Six Nations [to Ireland], and before that, were on a massive losing streak. The media were on top of them, on top of their coach, and they did manage to turn it around. Credit to them. Now they're on a 12-game win streak. So we've got to focus on ourselves and try to change the narrative, but also just get our championship back on the road.

“Definitely on their run of form, they deserve to come in really confident, but Calcutta Cup matches are often a little bit different, and it doesn't really matter what form any team are coming with.

“It's kind of like a derby match when you're playing club footy. You wonder why those games are so tight if you look at the form coming into them, and it’s because there's a lot on the line. I'm expecting to see an emotional England team, and I'm also expecting to see an emotional Scotland team.”

Tuipulotu’s Calcutta Cup experiences have all been good ones. He played in the winning Scotland teams of 2022, 2023 and 2024, memorably creating a brilliant try for his midfield partner Huw Jones at Twickenham in the second of those games.

He missed last season’s Six Nations through injury and returns to the fixture today as the leader of a group of players determined to show their true worth after last weekend’s pallid display.

“It's like I feel really blessed to be captaining a side going into a Calcutta Cup match,” said Tuipulotu. “It's such an important fixture and one with heaps of history.

“And I'm going to back myself because I know how much of a big game it is. And I know my teammates are going to do that. And like you said, we've had a good history playing in this fixture in the last few years. And we've got to make sure we continue the good record this year.”