I can’t believe it. I’ve never scored a hat-trick and to do it today is so special so I thank the boys for giving me the opportunity

SCOTLAND captain Rory Darge was “delighted” after lifting the Calcutta Cup alongside Finn Russell and praised Duhan van der Merwe for his match-winning hat-trick of tries.

England had raced into a 10-0 lead before the first of van der Merwe’s treble helped Scotland wrestle back momentum. His second try, a sprint up the touchline after George Furbank lost possession, helped Scotland into a half-time lead before making the game safe with his third try just after half time.

“It’s game-changing when he has a half-opportunity, takes it and scores. That’s a massive momentum swing.

“As a forward, it’s definitely nice to see when you’re working hard in the rucks and you see Duhan run the length. It’s such a good feeling.”

Darge admitted Scotland were not at their best but was pleased with the side’s response to going behind early on.

“We’re delighted to get the win. There were things we didn’t do well but we got the opportunities in the first half and took them well. We had spoken about momentum through the week and when it was with us, we really leaned into it.

“It was scrappy to start with for sure, but we weathered that. We made a few mistakes, and part of that was the pressure England put us under.

“Finn and Ben [White] controlled the game and put us in the right places, and the forwards went to work on the back of that.

“It’s a very different feeling in the changing room compared to two weeks ago. Even though there were bits we didn’t do well, to win with a nine-point margin, we’re delighted.”

Scotland now have a chance to win a first Triple Crown since 1990 when they head to Dublin on the final weekend and could be in contention for the championship if they beat Italy in Rome in two weeks’ time.

But he wants to celebrate his first victory in the historic fixture.

Darge said: “We’re definitely delighted to get the win – it’s the Calcutta Cup. It’s my first one, so I’m delighted personally.

“I thought the atmosphere was outstanding, and I’m just going to enjoy tonight. You have to enjoy it, then put it to bed so we can come back and really get after the Italy game.”

When asked if Scotland now have something to play for, Darge said he is looking no further than the trip to Rome.

“We have to take it one game at a time. Enjoy tonight then when the time comes, look no further than Italy because that’s obviously a tough away fixture.”

Player of the match Duhan van der Merwe was stunned by his performance.

“I can’t believe it,” he said to the BBC. “I’ve never scored a hat-trick and to do it today is so special so I thank the boys for giving me the opportunity. I don’t know what it is. I must be waking up feeling like scoring tries. I’m just the lucky one to finish them off. There was a lot of space. I knew Finn [Russell] was going to kick it to me, I just had to hope for a good bounce and luckily it bounced into my hands. It’s my first hat-trick so I’m obviously buzzing.

“It shows you where we’re going. It’s really special. I thank all the supporters for coming out, it really means a lot and we’re building.”

Asked about Scotland’s achievement in winning four straight against England for the first time since 1896, Darge’s co-captain Russell said: “I didn’t know that until two minutes ago. It’s great for us to be the team to achieve that.

“We’ve achieved quite a bit, a few records, winning in Wales, beating England at Twickenham and beating France over there. We’ve had a lot of good results but there’s still a long way to go, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.

“I’ve been here a long time, almost 10 years, I’ve lost by 60 points in England or by a point up here and it’s nice to be on the right side of it in the last few years.”