At long last England have shaken off their Calcutta Cup blues. Never in the previous 153 years of this fixture had Scotland managed five successive wins over the auld enemy and another tartan triumph really would have had them dancing in the streets of Galashiels in Bill MacLaren’s memory. This was a desperately tight old battle though, with a second gripping home victory in consecutive Six Nations games only secured right at the death.
In the end it all hinged on whether Finn Russell could land the angled conversion following Duhan van der Merwe’s 79th-minute try. Up went the ball, end over end, and for the first half of its flight it seemed Scotland might be celebrating once more. Agonisingly for the visitors, though, it then curved just wide of the left upright to leave a below-par English side, to their immense relief, still alive in the title race.
It was hard not to feel sympathy for Russell, whose side scored three tries to one and were much the better attacking side behind the scrum. Once again, though, England were able to hang tough when it mattered, a long raking last-quarter penalty from Fin Smith ultimately proving just enough to stem the tide of modern history. The middle weekend of the Six Nations championship is often a defining one and England will cling to this result as further evidence their fortunes are looking up.
The old adage normally has it that forwards decide matches and backs determine by how much. It was very nearly disproved here. Scotland’s three-quarter line were a constant threat, dark blue predators throughout, showing exactly why they will probably supply a clutch of British & Irish Lions in Australia this summer.
Ultimately though, England’s scramble defence and superior kicking off the tee proved the decisive factors, with Russell missing all three of his tricky conversion attempts. The fly-half’s preparations for this game were necessarily restricted following the heavy blow to the head he sustained against Ireland and, on another day, Scotland might also have had couple more tries as reward for their superior territory and possession stats.
For all England’s pre-game bullishness, the recent history of this fixture should have forewarned them. One red rose win in the previous seven games between the teams could hardly be dismissed as a fluke and the hosts needed all the bench horsepower they could muster to allow Maro Itoje to hoist the famous old trophy and prevent another Gregor Townsend-inspired heist. England were the slightly fortunate beneficiaries of French largesse earlier this month and this was another game that almost slipped away from them.
It added up to another gripping example of why this has become one of the calendar’s most entertaining contests and another grand occasion in a season increasingly full of them. The sense of pre-game theatre and expectation remains among the Six Nations’ hardiest perennials and, temperature wise, it also felt less like winter and more like spring. Scotland, furthermore, had spent the build-up training in Spain and began as if they were participating in a summer sevens tournament. With England already back-pedalling, Van der Merwe surged past Ollie Lawrence’s tackle and fed Tom Jordan who rifled a sensational long inside pass to the supporting Ben White who scored with ease.
England managed a swift response when Tommy Freeman, with advantage being played, crashed through Russell and Jordan to the referee’s satisfaction, with Marcus Smith’s conversion recapturing the advantage for his side. Scotland, though, were still looking confident with ball in hand and only a couple of small set piece errors temporarily spared England from further inconvenience.
It was not a huge surprise, then, when Scotland conjured another ripper of a try. Kyle Rowe, roaming hungrily off his wing, fed Blair Kinghorn who set Van der Merwe free down the same left touchline. This time the man lurking on the inside was Huw Jones who smashed past Ollie Sleightholme to give the visitors further encouragement.
It was a far cry from Scotland’s disappointing effort against Ireland last time out. Maybe there is a psychological block they struggle to overcome in that fixture; the merest glimpse of a white shirt, however, and they come alive. Tactically they also have a keen sense of where England’s vulnerabilities might lie and their pace and incision in the wider channels frequently made life a nightmare for England’s overstretched defence.
In Russell they also have a player who has learned not to overplay his hand. Only in the scrum did the home side enjoy consistent joy and, just before half-time, another set-piece penalty led to England’s most dangerous attacking surge of the opening 40 minutes. An excellent tackle from Van der Merwe stopped a speeding Marcus Smith from going all the way to the line but, with the try still crying out to be scored, Lawrence’s attempted “cat flap” offload to Sleightholme flew wastefully into touch.
France are seeking a reaction to their defeat by England as they look to reignite their Six Nations title push in Rome on Sunday. Fabien Galthié has responded to the 26-25 loss at Twickenham by making seven changes, including dropping the star wing Damian Penaud and the fly-half Matthieu Jalibert.
Thomas Ramos shifts from full-back into the No 10 jersey and Galthié has sprung another surprise by naming a seven‑one split between forwards and backs on the bench.
The wing Simone Gesi and the hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi are the new faces in Italy’s team as they look to follow up their victory over Wales. The hooker Giacomo Nicotera said: “We can’t say: ‘We’ve beaten Wales, that’s it.’ The objective is to beat a team that is better than Wales.” PA Media
The loss of a dazed Tom Willis at the interval and Tom Curry, who suffered a dead leg, within seven minutes of the restart were further blows but surely England would prove more incisive in the second half regardless? Their kick-heavy diet was beginning to earn boos from their own supporters and presenting Scotland’s backs with loads of free ball was a plan with plenty of risk attached.
A fine stop tackle by Fin Smith on Jordan, though, underlined the hosts’ continuing resilience and a 56th minute penalty from Marcus Smith drew them level towards the end of the third quarter. In similar circumstances against France they kicked impressively off the bend but this was a different kind of contest, against more focused opponents. Even at 16-10 up, with England finally looking safe, up popped Van der Merwe wide on the left to scare the living daylights out of them. This time, though, Russell could not quite nail down the coffin lid.
