SAD FEELING OF DEJA STU
Skipper’s fumble so costly again as Scots let Calcutta Cup slip from their grasp
Another Stuart Hogg fumble opened the door to Scotland’s latest cruel Six Nations calamity.
The Scotland captain dropped the ball under his posts in a pivotal moment that allowed England to score the only try of the match from the resultant scrum.
It all added up to another Scotland horror story as Eddie Jones’ side took the Calcutta Cup back across the border.
Their triumph in an error-strewn game, played out in storm-force winds and rain, only exposed the lack of a clinical edge from the Dark Blues who remain without a try two games into this campaign.
The early arrival of Storm Ciara made for a farcical clash at Murrayfield and Hogg admits it was a familiar tale of ‘what might have been’ as Gregor Townsend’s men’s tournament was blown further off course.
Their trip to face Italy in Rome in two weeks’ time now looks like a wooden spoon encounter.
Hogg held his hands up to his mistake a week after his handling error on the Irish line cost Scotland a try in their Dublin defeat.
The Scotland skipper said: “We are devastated. Again, it was a huge chance for us to exit and get down the right end.
“Unfortunately the ball just didn’t sit up and it was tough to take. I put the boys under a wee bit of pressure and unfortunately we didn’t manage to get out of it.
“I’ll take that on my shoulders and admit I made a mistake.
“I’m not going to shy away from it. Unfortunately I made a mistake and these things cost us.
“We’re hurting now. On Monday when we’re back in together, we’ll look forward to our next job.
“We will have to realise and accept where we’ve gone wrong, learn from these costly errors and put them right for Italy.”
England’s tactics were laid bare as they looked to kick into enemy territory at every opportunity during a high-tempo start.
The high penalty count that cost Scotland against Ireland was once again evident.
Scott Cummings was penalised for failing to roll away but Owen Farrell’s ninth-minute penalty held up in the strong wind to let the Scots off the hook.
Farrell was given another chance moments later from closer range and made no mistake to edge his side into a 3- 0 lead.
Both sides were being forced to defend inside their own 22 and Hogg opted against taking a penalty in the 16th minute – but the line- out failed to bear fruit.
The windy conditions were winning as kick after kick was launched in a bid to claim territory and apply pressure but the storm made a farce of the spectacle.
Farrell was handed another penalty in 27 minutes but again the crazy wind blew his effort off-course. The failure was lapped up by a home crowd who knew the weather was becoming a leveller and making the result a lottery.
Pre-match predictions of a tight contest were proving correct as England’s three-point lead held firm going into the break.
There was also a sense that Jones and his ‘ Bombsquad’ were now getting on top and squeezing the life out of Scotland as George Ford’s drop-goal attempt brought the half to a close as it drifted off target.
Scotland launched an attack straight from the restart with Hogg’s surge bringing Murrayfield to life. It was stirring stuff as Huw Jones was next to carry, only to be hauled down seven metres from the try-line.
It was a period of sustained pressure that brought a penalty and Adam Hastings fired between the posts to level the score.
There were errors everywhere though and Jonny Gray coughed up the ball to let England off the hook in 50 minutes as the Dark Blues looked set to puncture the English backline.
All of the action was now in the English half. Hogg led the charge with ball in hand and kicking precision and the crowd were playing their part in a hugely encouraging spell.
The game was there for the taking by either side and again it al l came down to needless errors. Scotland breathed a huge sigh of the relief as Mother Nature helped Farrell ’s 65th- minute penalty swirl wide of a post and the contest stayed tied at 3-3.
Then came the trademark moment of self- implosion for Scotland. Hogg allowed the ball to slip from his grasp over his own try- line but ref Pascal Gauzere deemed the skipper to have applied downward pressure before England pounced for a try.
But the English did win a scrum just a few metres out and Ellis Genge bulldozed over for a try that was converted by Farrell.
Farrell then edged the contest out of Scotland’s sight with a penalty three minutes from time before Hastings reduced the deficit with his own three-pointer.
What had been a miserable, wet and windy evening at Murrayfield was over with Townsend’s men remaining pointless in a Six Nations full of misadventure.
But the Scotland coach refused to blame the adverse conditions.
He said: “I’ve spoken to the players about reflecting on the last two games. They worked hard to get within a chance of winning.
“We have played two good teams in two weeks and this one was against the World Cup finalists.
“The game could have gone either way but we need to find a way of winning when we go to Rome.
“My players were outstanding to get the score back to 3-3 and the way in which they adapted to those conditions in the second half.
“To show what we did for the first 15 minutes to force errors and penalties was good. It was just that five-minute period that England got into our 22 we must remedy.
“In those conditions, you are often better off not having the ball.
“We haven’t had a game in the rain for years and it’s hard.
“When it is so windy you can’t throw the ball to the tail at line-outs as it’s too risky. I don’t know how many errors there were in the game, maybe 40 or 50.”
Townsend also exonerated skipper Hogg for his critical fumble.
He said: “Stuart was an inch or two away from making a brilliant decision. It’s tough in those conditions and there are mistakes.”