‘We are trying to develop a strong team but the occasion was just too big for us’

The packed tram from Murrayfield stadium back to Princes Street rocked and rolled to the strains of Flower of Scotland on Saturday night, and while the national rugby anthem has certainly been sung more beautifully, it had been ten years since it was belted out with the gusto of a win over the English. Scotland’s brilliant boys in blue had sent proud Edward’s army homeward to think again, all right. Eddie Jones and his England squad still boast an admirable record of 24 wins in 26 matches over the past two years but they cannot let the lessons of their 25-13 pasting in Edinburgh slip by.

England were a distant second best in this match. They trailed by an astonishing 22-6 at half-time and the glaring spotlight of defeat will fall on a bulging battalion of poor performers. Collectively, the defence was awful, as players flew up or in at the wrong times, or tackled weakly – Owen Farrell, of all people, among the culprits – to assist in all three Scottish first-half tries. Farrell appeared to have wasted emotional energy having an angry ruck in the players’ tunnel pre-match. There may be at least a reminder of responsibilities from the disciplinary authorities over that.

Dylan Hartley, the England captain, and Mike Brown, an utter stalwart of Jones at fullback, were hooked during the third quarter as English supporters pined for the ability to be creative in tight quarters of Jack Nowell, who came on for Brown but hardly had a sniff, and the injured Elliot Daly.

Elsewhere, England’s feared fast, fit, belligerent forwards – Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes and the rest – mostly just looked lumbering and easily beaten to the punch by smaller, cleverer Scottish opponents. The official statistics stated nine ruck and maul balls lost by England.

The mind’s eye will be seared with the image of John Barclay swooping over turnovers like some kind of kilted Dracula for weeks to come, or at least until Scotland go to Ireland and England visit France in the next round of the Six Nations Championship, with the Irish now short-odds title favourites.

“We are trying to develop a strong team but the occasion was too big for us,” said Jones. “We lacked intensity and we’ve got to find out why. We got beaten at the breakdown and we’ve got to find out