Scotland vs England weather forecast: Six Nations match under threat from Storm Ciara

On the run: England captain Owen Farrell prepares for Saturday's showdown
Getty Images
Will Macpherson7 February 2020

Rugby chiefs are braced for the arrival of Storm Ciara ahead of Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash between Scotland and England at Murrayfield.

A yellow weather warning is in place for Edinburgh, where conditions are due to deteriorate throughout the weekend. Storm Ciara, which is blowing in from the north Atlantic, could bring gusts as strong as 80mph, as well as heavy rain.

In 2012, France’s meeting against Ireland in Paris was postponed due to a frozen pitch at the Stade de France and moved to a fallow weekend three weeks later. Scottish Rugby do not think such a move will be required this weekend, but will continue to monitor the situation and work with local authorities, with disruption to travel a real possibility.

A Scottish Rugby spokesperson said: “Scottish Rugby are looking forward to welcoming fans to the matches being held this weekend. As part of our usual preparations we are closely monitoring weather forecasts in light of potential adverse conditions.

“The safety of all our spectators, players and staff is always the priority and we will take every necessary step to ensure our events remain as safe as possible. We are also in regular dialogue with the relevant partner agencies to ensure a co-ordinated response to any safety issues.”

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said the weather would affect how his team played. “I’ve been looking at the forecast every day and it has started to close in,” he said. “It’s looking like it will be wet and windy around kick-off. Of course it will be a factor in how we play.”

England captain Owen Farrell is confident that his side can still win the Championship, despite their 24-17 defeat to France in Paris on Sunday.

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“We’ll believe that until it’s not possible,” he said. “The only focus for us is to be better than we were last week. Training has stepped up this week. We have been at it. We have stepped up from last week.”

Farrell also expects a reaction from his side to that setback.

“Although you don’t want it to go this way, sometimes when you lose a game it allows you to look at your stuff that bit more, allows you to see what more you can do, probably more so than you would if you had won,” he said. “So, we have had a good look at ourselves, we have seen what we can do.

“This environment, this team, is pushing constantly. That is what has happened this week. [A loss] allows you to be a bit more open, I would say. We have done that.

“We have been open. We have said where we want to improve and I would expect us to not just talk about it but do it. We have stepped up a notch in training and that is exciting when you are preparing for a big Test match.”

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