The Calcutta Cup is one of the most exciting games in the Six Nations rugby tournament due to the extreme historic competition and rivalry between the England and Scotland rugby teams. The Six Nations tournament occurs annually from February to March to determine the best rugby team in Europe. The Six Nations include Ireland, France, Scotland, England, Wales, and Italy, ranked in that relative order. The first Calcutta Cup of the Six Nations tournament dates back to 1879, which ended in a draw; however, the skill and sheer technique shown on the field during the game were almost incomparable. On Saturday, February 24, 2024, Scotland once again raised an iconic trophy with elements of snake handles and an elephant figure on top. With a halftime score of 17-13 to Scotland, Scotland ran from that 4-point difference to make the final score 30-21, and as the game was won in Murrayfield, Scotland, it made for a much more exciting atmosphere for all Scottish fans attending.
Breaking down the eighty-minute match, it was not an easy win for Scotland, nor an easy loss for England. England was the first to score in the first 5 minutes off a scrum from their very own George Arthur Furbank playing at fullback. This was Furbank’s 7th game and first try for his country, which was very well honored and deserved. George Ford from England was also successfully able to convert the try, kicking it right down the center of the posts, despite the off-centered try. However, this was England’s only try for the entire match and the rest of their points came from penalty kicks at the fault of hands in the ruck, Fords’ natural drop goal, and foul play. Despite an unfortunate ending score for them, their line speed and domination in the scrum showed what the England rugby squad is possibly transforming back into after a couple of years of inconsistency.
Moving on to Scotland’s points, it is all owed to Scotland’s South African Duhan Van De Merwe. Van De Merwe has begun to make a name for himself in the Calcutta Cup, especially after his performance from last year where he scored, what was announced as the try of the year, when he ran from his 22-meter line, passing 5 defenders. In the 2024 game, Duhan scored three sprinting tries to bring Scotland to their victory. Although there was only one try scorer we all know a team sport cannot be done alone which is why the entire Scotland team played such an important role in earning these points but especially the co-captain, Finn Russel for his penalty kicks, Hugh Jones’ phenomenal run and great assist which helped Duhan for two of his tries, and Redbaths speedy breakthrough.
To wrap the game up, like all Six Nationx tournament games, they awarded Duhan with a layer of the match due to his outstanding speed, strength, and ball-handling skills which, once again, scored the first hat trick against England in rugby history. Despite
this achievement exactly 10 seconds after this was announced during the live game, he was penalized with a yellow card due to a tackle made vertical which has recently been strictly banned by the Rugby Union. Nevertheless, the Player of the Match award was still well deserved as well as a historical win for Scotland.