Scotland sent out a warning to beleaguered Wales with a dramatic Calcutta Cup victory over England as Brian Moore commentated on his final men’s Six Nations match.
Gregor Townsend’s team held on for a nail-biting 20-17 win at Murrayfield with a closely fought contest going deep into stoppage time.
The key incident came 14 minutes from time when the hosts were awarded a penalty try after England forward Luke Cowan-Dickie delberately batted the ball out of play off a cross kick, with the hooker also being yellow carded.
Moore, himself an ex-England hooker, called it a “moment of madness” by Cowan-Dickie.
The visitors - for whom fly-half Marcus Smith scored all their points - pressed hard in the closing stages, but were unable to break through.
As for former England and Lions hooker Moore, he was commentating in the men's tournament for the final time having been a victim of the BBC having fewer matches moving forward.
He admitted before the game it was going to be an emotional day for him after some two decades of working on the Six Nations.
In his final comment before signing off after the final whistle, he said: “I have just got two words to leave you with. Thank you.”
Moore will continue to work for the BBC on the Women’s Six Nations, which kicks off in March in a standalone window for the second consecutive year.
His last match as a commentator in the men’s tournament was a real tightly contested affair.
Scotland led 10-6 at half-time, following a try from replacement scrum-half Ben White, with England turning the tables after the break as Marcus Smith crossed to put them in front.
The Cowan-Dickie penalty try incident then levelled the scores, with Finn Russell slotting what proved to be the match-winning kick.
England piled on the late pressure, but opting to go for the corner in search of a try rather than an equalising kick at goal failed to pay off and the game then concluded amid a series of tense scrums in added time.
Scotland have now lost just one of their last seven Tests and will head for Cardiff in buoyant mood to take on struggling Wales.
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