PARIS - England open their pursuit of a second Six Nations title in five months with a historic showdown against their oldest rugby enemy Scotland on Saturday, but will be looking over their shoulders at another threat in blue.
At the end of a coronavirus-interrupted tournament last year, England picked up a predictable bonus point against Italy on the final day to edge France to the title on points difference.
That tournament ended on October 31, 274 days after it started.
This one is scheduled to finish with three matches on March 20, 144 days after the last one ended.
The England-Scotland clash comes seven weeks before the 150th anniversary of the first rugby international, between the same teams in Edinburgh. The Calcutta Cup was introduced as a trophy for the winner in 1879.
"The first game of the tournament, we play for one of the oldest trophies in sport, 142 years since we have played for the Calcutta Cup, 150 years since this game was first played," said Scotland coach Gregor Townsend.
"So the rivalry will always be there and it should be an intense match."
England coach Eddie Jones insisted his team were motivated.
"For Scotland this is their most important game of the year, they talk about it all the time," Jones said.
"But Scotland don't have a monopoly on pride -- our players get an opportunity to play in this historic game and they are going to be ready for it."
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Scotland are searching for a first win over England at Twickenham since 1983 but Saturday's match is taking place behind closed doors in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It becomes more of a neutral venue," said Townsend.
"But you have got to make sure you play rugby, and not wait for any lack of crowd noise to help you."
England won the tournament last year despite losing their opening match in Paris.
They got a helping hand from Scotland, who beat the French at Murrayfield in the last match before the tournament was suspended.
- 'Down to business' -France are nursing a sense of a job unfinished as they start their campaign in Rome on Saturday.
"This tournament has been on everyone's mind for a while. The whole squad wants to get down to business," said captain Charles Ollivon.
France have been training in a bio-secure bubble in Nice.
"We all agree with the conditions," said the 27-year-old. "We know, suddenly, that we have to respect a lot of rules."
"It also helps to strengthen bonds."
Italy have more modest goals. They want to end a run of 27 consecutive defeats in the tournament since they beat Scotland in 2015.
"The real opponent is ourselves, it doesn't really matter who we play against," said South African coach Franco Smith.
The weekend ends with a meeting in Cardiff between two teams who fell below recent standards last season.
Both Wales and Ireland had won the tournament three times in the preceeding eight seasons.
Ireland had a mediocre campaign, losing to France and England to finish third, but Wales suffered a disaster beating only Italy.
The 2019 Grand Slam champions have lost their past four Tests against Ireland, but the Irish have not won a Six Nations match in Cardiff since 2013.
Wales coach Wayne Pivac had talked about building squad depth ahead of the 2023 World Cup but accepts he needs to win on Sunday.
"In round one, we're obviously after a result," he said.
Andy Farrell, the Ireland coach, said his team would not be taking Wales for granted.
"We know how good they are, especially when under pressure," he said. "It will be a war of attrition."
AFP