Preview: Scotland v England
Scotland might not have beaten England home or away since 2008, but they have only lost at their Edinburgh base to English sides led by Jones' immediate predecessor, Stuart Lancaster, since the reign of Clive Woodward.
Martin Johnson, Brian Ashton and Andy Robinson all notably failed to notch victories against the Scots at Murrayfield as England head coaches.
Lancaster opened his spell in charge, initially as caretaker, with a 13-6 success away to Scotland in 2012, with a starting XV featuring a trio of debutants – Owen Farrell, Brad Barritt and Phil Dowson – and with Chris Robshaw as captain on only his second international appearance.
Having picked up the reins in the wake of Lancaster's failure to guide England to the knockout stages of their home World Cup last year, Jones has plumped for experience over youthful promise in his first team selection as England's first overseas head coach, although the uncapped Northampton prop Paul Hill, Harlequins back rower Jack Clifford and Bath centre Ollie Devoto are all in line for debuts off the bench.
That is an acknowledgement of the task facing an England side captained by the abrasive Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley.
Scotland suffered a whitewash in last year's Six Nations but came within a controversial refereeing decision of making the last four in the World Cup, losing their Twickenham quarterfinal against Australia 34-35 after Bernard Foley's late penalty kick for the Wallabies.
"Playing at Murrayfield in front of a passionate Scottish crowd will be a real test for this team but one I know we can rise to," said Jones.
"We've had a good preparation and we'll go in there confident about playing well."
Australian Jones secured his job as successor to Lancaster, who also guided England to a 20-0 win at Murrayfield in 2014, on the back of his outstanding World Cup campaign in charge of Japan, who achieved a stunning 34-32 win against South Africa, but he has a personal score to settle.
The one pool loss that Jones' inspired team suffered, 10-34 against Scotland in Gloucester, cost them a quarterfinal place.
Scotland's head coach Vern Cotter is also aiming to maintain the momentum of his squad's impressive World Cup campaign.
The native New Zealander has made only two changes to the starting XV that took Australia to the brink in the quarterfinal, Scarlets flank John Barclay coming in for Blair Cowan on the blindside and Edinburgh's Matt Scott replacing the injured Peter Horne at inside centre.
"England will want to dominate us, but I don't see why we shouldn't take them on at their strong points," said Cotter.
"We're expecting them to be extremely motivated and physical, and we're looking forward to that challenge."
Scotland are not short of motivation themselves.
They have only won one of their last 12 matches in the Six Nations and have not scored a try against England at Murrayfield since Simon Danielli claimed a consolation effort in a 15-35 defeat against Woodward's recently-crowned world champions in February 2004.
Players to watch:
For Scotland: Fullback Stuart Hogg is undoubtedly one of the most exciting backline players in Europe at the moment. He has the ability break through defences with speed and can also put teammates into space when he comes up to the line. Scrumhalf and captain Greg Laidlaw is the general of this Scotland team and can dictate the game with the help of flyhalf Finn Russell. He was one of the best players in last year's World Cup with his quick service and his ability to find gaps around the rucks. He is a good leader as well and his decision making on the field could give Scotland a big advantage. Up front John Hardie is probably Scotland's greatest weapon in this game. The New Zealand-born flank's ball poaching abilities will be a real threat to England and he is very physical on defence as well. He is probably one of fastest forwards on the field as well, which will add to Scotland's attacking game.
For England: Dylan Hartley is a somewhat controversial player with his poor disciplinary record – yet Eddie Jones chose him to captain the team. It will be interesting to see how Hartley channels his aggression on the field without picking up a yellow or red card in this match. Former captain Chris Robshaw has moved from openside flank to blindside flank and Jones feels this is the right move for the player. Robshaw received a lot of criticism for his performances for England over the years and his decision making as captain also came under fire during last year's World Cup. Jones feels that Robshaw will be a better player in his "correct" position and will play with a sense of freedom as he will not have the extra responsibilities that a captain would have. Owen Farrell will be another player to watch in this match. The flyhalf will be playing at inside centre in this match and his combination with George Ford in that important 10 and 12 channel could be a masterstroke by Eddie Jones. England might also edge the kicking game in this match as they will have two tacticians in that channel.
Head to Head: It should be interesting to see the battle at breakdown with John Hardie and James Haskell both tasked with trying to steal opposition ball on the ground. The two players are different in the way they play the game and one could argue that Hardie is a more traditional openside flank than Haskell. Haskell has done well in the No.7 jersey in the past, but looks more like a blindside player these days with his bulk. The two young flyhalves will also be in the spotlight in this game. Finn Russell has been showing a lot of promise with his attacking game in the last few seasons and could be the spark that gives Scotland the edge in this game. George Ford is a year younger than Russell, but has played a few more games on the international stage than his counterpart. However, he has yet to convince in that flyhalf position. With wet conditions expected in Edinburgh it could come down to a tactical kicking showdown between Ford and Russell. Talking about wet conditions, the scrums will also be a vital platform for both teams in this game. The battle upfront between England's Joe Marler and Scotland's Willem Nel in the scrum should be a humdinger as both are brutes of the game and both would want to scrum the other into submission.
Recent results:
2015: England won 25-13, London
2014: England won 20-0, Edinburgh
2013: England won 38-18, London
2012: England won 13-6, Edinburgh
2011: England won 16-12, Auckland
2011: England won 22-16, London
2010: 15-all draw, Edinburgh
2009: England won 26-12, London
2008: Scotland won 15-9, Edinburgh
2007: England won 42-20, London
Prediction: Scotland should be the more settled side under Vern Cotter, while England still need time to find their feet under Eddie Jones. Scotland should edge it by five points.
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Duncan Taylor.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Jack Clifford, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Alex Goode, 23 Ollie Devoto.
Date: Saturday, February 6
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 16:50 GMT
Expected weather: Cloudy with periods of rain. A high of six with a slight breeze.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
AFP & @rugby365com
