1971 Scotland versus England rugby union match

Rugby Union Centenary International

1971 Scotland versus England rugby union match
Scotland England 26 6
Match details
Date	27 March 1971 (27 March 1971)
Venue	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Referee	Meirion Joseph (Wales)
Attendance	50,000

The 1971 Scotland versus England rugby union match, also known as the Rugby Union Centenary International, was an international rugby union match played between Scotland and England on 27 March 1971, the centenary of the match between the two teams played in 1871.

Overview and background

The teams' pre-match record

Team	Wins
England	41
Scotland	31
Draws	14

The match between Scotland and England on 27 March 1971 was played one week after their Five Nations meeting. The record of both teams at the Five Nations tournament was poor: Scotland finishing last, England second-last. The two teams were separated by just one-point, both on the final standings and in their Five Nations fixture. The Scots came back to win the encounter 15–16, breaking their six-year, two-match losing streak at Twickenham Stadium.

With the previous weeks result, the competition between both teams was considered very tight. Despite both teams' poor records in the Five Nations, it was notably mentioned as unworthy by the news-media.

Scotland ran away with a dominant victory at home, 26–6. The twenty-point win was Scotland's biggest victory over England, and remained so for 14 years and 325 days until they met in the 1986 Five Nations.

Match details

27 March 1971 13:00 GMT (UTC+0)

Scotland	26–6	England
Try: Frame (2) 1' c, 55' c P. Brown 32' m Steele 71' c Rea 75' c Con: A. Brown (4/4) 1', 55', 71', 75' Pen: P. Brown (1/1) 7'	Report	Pen: Hiller (1/1) 70' Drop: Cowman (1/1) 10'

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Meirion Joseph (Wales)

Scotland

England

FB 15 Arthur Brown RW 14 Billy Steele OC 13 John Frame IC 12 Chris Rea LW 11 Alastair Biggar FH 10 Jock Turner SH 9 Duncan Paterson N8 8 Peter Brown (c) OF 7 Rodger Arneil BF 6 Nairn MacEwan RL 5 Gordon Brown LL 4 Alastair McHarg TP 3 Sandy Carmichael HK 2 Quintin Dunlop LP 1 Ian McLauchlan Substitutes: N8 16 Gordon Strachan WG 17 Ronnie Hannah CE 18 Stephen Turk SH 19 Ian McCrae HK 20 Bobby Clark PR 21 Hamish Bryce Coach: Bill Dickinson

FB 15 Bob Hiller RW 14 Jeremy Janion OC 13 Chris Wardlow IC 12 John Spencer (c) LW 11 David Duckham FH 10 Dick Cowman SH 9 Nigel Starmer-Smith N8 8 Bob Taylor OF 7 Tony Neary BF 6 Tony Bucknall RL 5 Chris Ralston LL 4 Peter Larter TP 3 Fran Cotton HK 2 John Pullin LP 1 Piggy Powell Substitutes: WG 16 Peter Glover SH 17 Jacko Page HK 18 Andy Johnson PR 19 Stack Stevens N8 20 Charlie Hannaford FH 21 Ian Wright Coach: Don White