George Ford: England fly-half living the dream steering Six Nations title charge
England seek first Murrayfield win since 2020 as the Calcutta Cup holders look to strengthen title aspirations with successive Six Nations victories; Fly-half George Ford urges England to assert authority over Scotland side looking for a reaction after opening-round defeat in Rome
Wednesday 11 February 2026 12:37, UK
George Ford insists guiding England’s Six Nations title push - and walking into the hostility of Murrayfield on Saturday - is the stuff of dreams.
England have not savoured victory at Murrayfield since 2020 but cross the border confident of ending that drought after a transformative 12-Test winning streak.
Ford, one of three survivors from England's last victory in Edinburgh who start again on Saturday, has been instrumental in the upsurge under Steve Borthwick.
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The fly-half landed the man-of-the-match award after orchestrating a comprehensive 48-7 victory over Wales in their Six Nations opener - and there is no place he would rather be ahead of stepping into the cauldron of Murrayfield.
"I love it," he told Sky Sports. "As a kid, you grow up dreaming of playing in the best stadiums around the world against good teams in the best atmospheres and in the best tournaments.
"That is exactly where we are at right now. We're playing in the Six Nations, in a brilliant stadium against a great team in a great atmosphere. We're in a great team ourselves. We can't wait."
Ford: We want to go to Murrayfield and win
Murrayfield has proven the unhappiest of hunting grounds for England of late, with Scotland's recent dominance in the fixture underpinned by three victories in the four previous meetings on home soil.
Borthwick has yet to taste victory on the ground as head coach but with England's 2020 victory at Murrayfield propelling them to their last Six Nations title triumph there is hope breaking this duck could pave the way to silverware.
"We obviously want to go up there and win, of course we do," Ford added. "Irrespective of the winning run, or where we are as a team, we would want to go and win this game.
"We're going to Scotland, we cannot wait to play in a brilliant stadium, represent England and take another step in this tournament."
Asked if it was a must-win game in the context of England's title ambitions, Ford replied: "It is because it's the next game. Every Six Nations I've been involved in, you take each week, each game as it comes.
"This is the next big challenge in front of us. We will look to deal with it and see where we are after that."
Exorcising their recent Murrayfield demons would represent another important milestone taken by England under Borthwick.
Ford is preparing to face the best version of a Scotland side smarting from their opening-round 18-15 defeat to Italy - and believes asserting authority is key to England's chances.
"I don't think any game is the same, it's always a fresh challenge," he said. "We understand the challenge of coming up against a great team in Scotland, and the threats they have.
"When you lose a Test match you always want to bounce back the week after. Regardless of the result they had at the weekend, England going to Murrayfield is a big occasion, so we are expecting the best version of them which shows how good we have to be.
"Our mindset and mentality has to be how can we, and when can we, impose our gameplan on them. We are confident. We understand any Test match, home or away, you need your foundations and fundamentals to be strong.
"On top of that, there's the ability to score points and be dangerous in attack. For us, it's about putting the eggs in our basket and going and playing our game."
If the eggs remain in England's basket at Murrayfield, the chickens could come home to roost, ratcheting up the pressure on Scotland boss Gregor Townsend.
England's 2026 Six Nations fixtures
All times UK and Ireland
- England 48-7 Wales (Saturday February 7) - Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
- vs Scotland (Saturday February 14) - Murrayfield (4.40pm)
- vs Ireland (Saturday February 21) - Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (2.10pm)
- vs Italy (Saturday March 7) - Stadio Olimpico, Rome (4.40pm)
- vs France (Saturday March 14) - Stade de France, Paris (8.10pm)
