The Cabbage Patch was eerily empty but it still felt sweet to silence Hooray Henrys
First win in London for 38 years was surreal yet was worth the wait HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
THERE’S something superior about Twickenham, a boorish arrogance and expectancy about the place.
Barbour jackets, tweed breeks and the monumental bores. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and for some reason, Jerusalem provide the background music to grate on the nerves.
It’s not just the stadium, you can sense it from the moment you are squeezed in amongst England fans on the train from London to TWI. Loud and brash, Hooray Henry and Britannia Rules the Waves.
Usual routine, Calcutta Cup games are painful experiences, a trip to the home of rugby can become a torture chamber for anyone of a Scottish persuasion as the history books suggest.
For some reason the locals call it the Cabbage Patch, a ground where all of the posh pomp of a sport which our southern neighbours regard as their own is displayed. Not on this Saturday though, the normal 82,000 attendance had been shrunk to nearly zero as Covid restrictions were enforced. This time it was about reporting from a safe distance, remote and on Zoom. A wait for a win in London had stretched back to 1983, think about that. This was truly to become a triumph for the ages, claiming glory at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years.
Under Gregor Townsend the positive signs had been growing game by game. Psychological barriers were being smashed along the way and a win in Wales the previous autumn for the first time in 18 years was a huge pointer for what was to come.
This was a time for new heroes as the class of 1983 were at last laid to rest with a Scottish display from start to finish which was as good as it gets.
A perfect storm of Scottish superstars Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell coming to the fore and English failings with a penalty count which laid the foundations for an away win. Four of them were conceded in the first five minutes and Russell fired home the first points.
Scotland’s lead would be cushioned as England’s crime
Toony’stroops makehistoryat Twickenham count grew and their No.8 Billy Vunipola was sent to the sin-bin for an offside.
England’s penalty count entered double digits and it triggered a Scottish try from Duhan van der Merwe.
The celebrations were briefly halted as Scotland gave away a penalty and England captain Owen Farrell sent the ball over.
As Farrell lined up a second penalty, he suggested the television match official reviewed a trip by Russell on England’s Ben Youngs – leading to a yellow card.
It looked like yet another selfinflicted wound by Scotland and the start of a false dawn. That sense of an impending collapse belied the stats board which showed a first half of 72 per cent Scottish possession and 74 per cent territory and just a two-point lead.
All of the elements of glorious failure had been lined up but this was the day Townsend’s side bucked the trend.
The key was not conceding in Russell’s absence and managing to run down the clock until his return before the playmaker fired over another penalty for 11-6 Scotland.
It was agonising as we waited for that all too familiar English surge, but that wave of white shirts didn’t arrive. That collective strength of will not to implode carried Scotland home.
Then the whistle arrived and marked the 150th anniversary of the first time England and Scotland met – for once we landed the bragging rights.
Make no mistake, Townsend is steering a generation of player capable of so much more.
The last Six Nations delivered a fourth-place finish with three wins and two defeats but signs of encouragement were everywhere.
Townsend knows that win at Twickenham can be the catalyst for better times ahead. That gives us an opportunity to do more than we have in the past.”
Here’s hoping he’s right and bring on Six Nations 2022.