Royal toast to Calcutta Cup win
And JK joins the party too as Scots secure ‘immortal’ win over England
PROTOCOL vanished in a shower of champagne last night when a princess, a First Minister and a world-renowned female author joined the celebrations in the Scottish team’s dressing room at Murrayfield.
BBC reporter Sonja McLaughlan could barely believe her own Tweet when she wrote: ‘Currently sitting outside Scottish dressing room. So far, HRH, JK Rowling and Nicola Sturgeon have emerged. Stand by for player selfies.’
Meanwhile STV reporter Colin Mackay quoted Scotland boss Gregor Townsend, claiming that the VIPs were also enjoying supping bubbly direct from the trophy his team had just won in such dramatic fashion.
He tweeted: ‘Gregor Townsend says the FM @nicolasturgeon was in the dressing room, drinking champagne from the Calcutta Cup. Princess Anne, too!’
The party began in earnest after Scotland trounced the Auld Enemy to win the Calcutta Cup for the first time in ten years.
Those lucky enough to be at Murrayfield to witness the historic victory were understandably the most ani- mated, singing and dancing with delight in the stands and swigging heartily from their bottles and cups.
Princess Anne became caught up in the moment, seemingly unwilling to let go of the 139-year-old silver trophy until she told Scotland captain John Barclay how thrilled she was.
The Princess Royal, patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, was not the only Englishwoman to nail her colours to the Scottish mast. Harry Potter author Miss Rowling may have been born south of the Border but her blood ran blue last night as she punched the air in delight at each Scottish point.
She told her 14 million followers on Twitter: ‘After years of not caring about sport, I got emotionally invested in the Scotland team. This cannot be happening. But it is.’
Miss Rowling posted a short clip on social media of Princess Merida in the aniSCOTLAND’S
mated Disney movie Brave casting off her hood to reveal her true identity. No explanation needed there.
TV presenter Lorraine Kelly was slightly less subtle with her message on Twitter. The popular Glasgow-born broadcaster wrote: ‘I am going to drink my body weight in whisky (that’s a lot).’
Scotland had gone into yesterday’s Six Nations match the clear underdogs, still reeling from the tournament’s opening-day defeat by Wales in Cardiff.
But as winter’s dusk fell on Auld Reekie, the boys in blue conspired to produce a 25-13 triumph so emphatic that a former England scrum half said they were destined for immortality.
Matt Dawson, speaking on Radio 5 Live, gasped: ‘Every player in that Scotland side will be remembered forever. It was that kind of game. I can’t praise Scotland enough. That was an epic performance. They were relentless in defence and in attack. Totally incredible.’
Nobody captured the transformation in Scottish fortunes more than Scotland No 10 Finn Russell.
The Glasgow Warriors playmaker had been tipped to be benched yesterday after less than thrilling performances against Wales and France.
But the man who is said to thrive on pressure justified his selection by being named yesterday’s Man of the Match.
Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson was also at the match, while Olympic cycling hero Sir Chris Hoy tweeted: ‘Fantastic! Well done boys!’
Fans put on their best bib and tucker for the oldest rugby international in the world, a competition that has been played out between the two nations since 1879. Two fans turned up at the ground sporting smart tartan suits, one in red and his friend in blue.
Men, women and children had gone overboard on the woad, decorating their faces with the Saltire, and the distinctive Glengarry was everywhere to be seen.
As the Scots performed a lap of honour around the old ground, the Tartan Army could scarcely believe we now sit higher in the league table than Italy, Wales and France.
England head coach Eddie Jones was politeness personified as he took to the TV microphones at the end of the match.
Despite being booed by the home crowd – and drowned out by yet another rendition of Flower of Scotland – he managed to sum up the significance of the day in just a few short words.
‘Congratulations, Scotland,’ he said. ‘They were too good for us today.’
Then he went homeward, tae think again.