Scots’ big challenge now is to finally take the next step
Four wins in six meetings, with a comeback victory snatched away at the death by George Ford, is a record that reflects Scotland’s undeniable superiority over England since 2018. Put simply, they have been more skilful, more streetwise and mentally and physically tougher than their Calcutta Cup rivals.
The familiar themes of those defeats may hurt England, but credit must go to Gregor Townsend and his team – regardless of their opponents’ failings.
Scotland now host Wales – whose coach, Warren Gatland, has been something of a bogeyman in recent years – with a very real chance of landing a top-two finish in the Six Nations for the first time.
We should recognise the patience shown by the Scots in the kicking battle at Twickenham. They kicked 42 times to England’s 37, and achieved some big wins in aerial exchanges. Stuart Hogg’s long clearance in the 13th minute was the sixth kick in a long rally. While the full-back achieved decent distance, England’s Ollie Hassell-collins had a tempting opportunity to tilt the lance. Scotland’s chase was equal to the task and earned a breakdown penalty. That set up a line-out and an overthe-top throw from George Turner to Jamie Ritchie exposed England in midfield. Owen Farrell tore after Finn Russell and Huw Jones had a huge gap. The break put England into crisis mode and compromised their back-field coverage.
A few phases later, Sione Tuipulotu spotted that England did not have a sweeper, with Max Malins close to the ruck, and slid through a grubber for Jones to score.
Turner also had a role in Duhan van der Merwe’s stunning solo try in the first half. Following Jack van Poortvliet’s clearance, the hooker edged in front of Farrell and leaned in lightly. It was not enough to be classed as an obvious obstruction, but it certainly made the first tackle more difficult and allowed Van der Merwe to build up steam towards a gap between Farrell and Joe Marchant. The rest of the run was magnificent, yet Turner’s subtle actions provided further evidence of Scotland’s street-smarts and cohesion.
That Scotland hauled themselves back from 20-12 down was testament to their character and conviction. Townsend should be applauded for some bold selection calls as well. Ben White, another try-scorer, has been in fine form for London Irish at scrum-half. The decision to back a Glasgow Warriors pairing of Tuipulotu and Jones, keeping defensive linchpin Chris Harris on the bench, paid off.
In the final quarter, Scotland stretched England from touchline to touchline. Van der Merwe’s second try, laid on by four slick passes – from Russell, Fraser Brown,
Richie Gray and Matt Fagerson – epitomised their conviction.
Luke Crosbie and Fagerson amassed 46 tackles between them according to Opta, missing just one. Scotland’s forwards have also stood up to England in the set-piece exchanges over recent years. Fittingly, they repelled a close-range maul to help them seal the deal.
The Gray brothers led a countershove that deprived England of any momentum. Ritchie was perhaps fortunate to be awarded the decisive penalty, with both Richie Gray and Jack Dempsey impeding England clearers.
Scotland have made a frustrating habit of failing to capitalise on promising starts in the Six Nations. They have not backed up a firstround win since the 1996 Five Nations. As a wounded Wales head to Murrayfield, they seem in a strong position to change that.