Dylan Hartley, the England captain, was cleared of spitting at an opponent during his side’s NatWest Six Nations victory over Wales 12 days ago after alternative camera angles revealed he was nowhere near the player in question.

Hartley had been subjected to a torrent of abuse on social media in the hours after England’s 12-6 victory when a clip of the incident was posted on a website amid accusations that he had spat at Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies as he was prostrate on the pitch.

Although the incident was not raised by the Welsh management, the Six Nations match commissioner began an investigation. Hartley told him that he had actually spat on the grass several feet away from Davies, a version of events supported by footage supplied from additional camera angles.

Hartley is therefore free to win his 92nd cap against Scotland in a game which the home side believe they can win if they put enough pressure on George Ford and Owen Farrell. Scotland centre Peter Horne makes his first appearance against England, having missed last year’s 61-21 trouncing.

“I came back from a ruptured syndesmosis last year and missed the first couple of games. Before that I never got selected so this is my first game against England,” said Horne. “I watched the game at Twickenham. It was hard to take. We don’t want to get mugged off again, especially on our own patch.”