The RBS Six Nations—comforting annual staple of the European sporting calendar, or a six-week dirge through mud, rain and tradition bordering on torpor?
The competition divides opinion, but this year there is some added piquancy, with Eddie Jones, the former Australia coach, taking charge of England for the first time.
Jones arrives in the wreckage of England's disastrous home World Cup campaign in 2015, when the team, under the leadership of Stuart Lancaster, failed to make it out of the group stages.
His first test is white-hot: Scotland, at Murrayfield, a side that made the World Cup quarter-finals and came within a whisker of knocking out finalist Australia.
Where can you watch Jones' first England game? Follow our television and radio guide.
Where to watch and listen
Kick-off at Murrayfield is at 4.50 p.m. G.M.T. In Britain, you can watch all the action live on BBC One from 4.25 p.m. As usual, live streaming will be available through the BBC Sport website.
This is the first year of a deal that sees ITV share broadcast rights with the BBC. The commercial channel opens its coverage on Sunday with Ireland vs. Wales from 3 p.m.
For those pottering through department stores or hardware emporiums on their Saturday afternoons, the game is also available on BBC Radio 5 live from 4.50 p.m.
TEAMS
Scotland
Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Mark Bennett, Matt Scott, Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Al Dickinson, Ross Ford, WP Nel, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, John Barclay, John Hardie, David Denton. Replacements: Stuart McInally, Gordon Reid, Zander Fagerson, Tim Swinson, Blair Cowan, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Duncan Weir, Duncan Taylor.
England
Mike Brown; Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, Jack Nowell; George Ford, Danny Care; Billy Vunipola, James Haskell, Chris Robshaw; George Kruis, Joe Launchbury; Dan Cole, Dylan Hartley (capt), Joe Marler. Replacements: Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Paul Hill, Courtney Lawes, Jack Clifford, Ben Youngs, Alex Goode, Ollie Devoto.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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