Why Scotland players faced England with former players' names on their shirts

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend’s starting team for the Six Nations clash with England at Twickenham included some well-known names in Scottish Rugby.

Finn Russell, Jonny Gray and Stuart Hogg were all included – but each played with another player’s name on their navy blue jerseys, as well as their own.

In a commemorative move to mark the 150th anniversary of the first rugby international between the teams, each Scotland player had the name of their 1871 counterpart added to their respective shirt number and position.

So Stuart Hogg, the Scotland captain, carried the name of Francis Moncrieff into the match on a specially embroidered section at the hip of his shirt – 150 years since Scotland won the same fixture by a score at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh.

England also marked the occasion with a special retro-style kit for the match at Twickenham. Their usual white uniforms included a nostalgic throw-back to the old-style red rose emblem on each player's shirt.

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