Scotland co-captain Rory Darge says the chance to make history will fuel his side's "massive ambition" when they bid for a record-breaking fifth win in a row over England in Saturday's Six Nations clash at Twickenham.
The Scots went 38 years without a Twickenham triumph before their 11-6 Calcutta Cup success in 2021.
They are now eyeing both a fifth successive win over England and an equally unprecedented third straight Twickenham triumph in rugby union's oldest international fixture.
They go into a 143rd meeting with their cross-border rivals following a disappointing 32-18 second-round loss to Six Nations champions Ireland in Edinburgh that following an opening win over Italy.
"I think it's an opportunity to be involved in historic wins," Darge told a pre-match press conference at Twickenham on Friday.
"You go into the tournament with massive ambition to be a Scotland team that does something special. We got beat last time out, but there's still loads to play for in this tournament."
A great week of prep 👊#AsOne pic.twitter.com/Qbv4K9ghNK
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 21, 2025
'THE BIG ONE'
The 24-year-old Glasgow flanker, playing at Twickenham for the first time, added: "Scotland v England is always a big one. It makes that role of getting the motivation pretty easy – there's loads there already.
"Historically it's always been a game that as a fan you watch with more interest than others and now that you're actually playing in it, sometimes you have to take a moment to reflect on the fact that you're actually involved in one now.
"But the absolute main driver is obviously the fact it's a Six Nations game and if we win, we get four or five points."
Scotland have a talented back-line but were bullied up front by Ireland, with one newspaper report even suggesting they had a "weedy" pack.
"I think it's not something we use as fuel, certainly I don't," said Darge. "It's something you should be proud of; what you do as a forward pack anyway. It's always an important factor of the game, isn't it, the physicality between the two packs?"
England v Scotland 🏴🏴#AsOne | #GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/nc1TvwgRT0
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 21, 2025
Scotland have been boosted by the inclusion of Darge's co-captain Finn Russell after the playmaking fly-half, who has tormented England in recent encounters, was passed fit following a concussion that forced him off the field against Ireland.
"Finn is really important to us as a team so I'm delighted that he's fit," said Darge. "He has so much experience playing for Scotland and his talent speaks for itself."
England are fresh from a thrilling 26-25 win over France that ended a run of seven straight losses by leading nations, with Steve Borthwick's decision to select Fin Smith at flyhalf and move Marcus Smith to full-back vindicated by the Northampton playmaker's composed display in his first test start in the No 10 shirt.
"Both are outstanding players and it might be a case of trying to get them both on the field at the same time and it certainly worked for them against France," said Darge.
Your Scotland team for Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash.
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 20, 2025
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