Nostalgia: Scotland Vs England

FOR rugby fans, there really is no other place to be.

The anticipation building into feverish excitement, the gladiators in blue containing their nerves as they stride on to the pitch, the sell-out crowd with voices already hoarse from belting out Flower of Scotland, the skirl of the pipes and then finally the whistle blows – and the first tackle crunches in.

As the Scotland and England players take to Murrayfield for today’s Calcutta Cup clash, they will be only too aware of the history which precedes them and the pressure on their shoulders to live up to the great teams of the past. The scenes in our main picture above show just what it means when Scotland triumph over the Auld Enemy.

The pitch invasions – now a thing of the past – simply could not be contained when Scotland ran out 14-5 victors in March 1970 at a very different looking Murrayfield to the modern stadium of today.

And who could forget the famous day in 1990 which was kicked off by the now legendary slow march on to the pitch? The underdog Scots, captained by David Sole, dramatically clinched the Grand Slam decider on home soil against the hot favourites.

It was a victory which seemed to galvanise the country and it is a match which is sure to be recalled in Edinburgh’s bars as this year’s Six Nations begins today.

Will the mounting debate over Scotland’s future in the UK add any extra spice to today’s encounter? As if any more was needed . . .