They know they must improve, and quickly, or else another championship of mediocrity awaits. The visit of Ireland will leave no wriggle room. There is improvement to do and we want to get to the final week with an opportunity to still be in the championship.”Ī day of reckoning for England has been less kind. “To show that resilience to come back and then score 30 points shows what this team is capable of. “Now we can look to the next two games and see how we can improve,” said Towsend. This victory will fire them with the belief that Scotland can push on for the title. It felt critical that England scored next to keep themselves in the game, but within five minutes of the restart, Van der Merwe had crossed for his third, gathering a brilliant cross-kick by Russell.įor Townsend, the disappointment of the last-gasp defeat by France, is now long forgotten. His second try was a stunning solo effort, reminiscent of his score at Twickenham last year, as he ran the length of England’s half, taking advantage of a dropped ball by Furbank.Ī dropped goal by Ford cancelled out a Russell penalty but Scotland were worthy of their four-point lead at the break. Yet Scotland’s response was exhilarating, spearheaded by Van der Merwe, who underscored his reputation as the championship’s most deadly finisher, scoring his first try from a well-crafted move that exploited a faultline in England’s new defence, a mix-up between Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade allowed Jones to break clear. It was his delayed pass to Elliot Daly that put the England wing through the hole in the build-up to Furbank’s score and he then landed another penalty to put England 10-0 in front. And it was George Ford, not Russell who took early control of the contest. Furbank glided over for a try after just six minutes from a brilliantly executed move from a scrum. The frustration for Borthwick is that his side flattered only to deceive. In contrast Ben White, Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones proved much more effective, so too Cameron Redpath from the bench while Blair Kinghorn at full-back delivered the kind of potency that England had sought with the surprise selection of Furbank, who endured a mixed display, with moments of brilliance undone by too many errors. Scotland did not have to work for their lead, but once they had their noses in front, they had the experience and fluidity to surge clear. Ireland, chasing a second Grand Slam, are the next visitors to Twickenham on March 9, and with a final round trip to face France in Lyon, the prospect of a fourth successive season yielding just two championship victories, is casting a dark shadow.įor the third game in succession, England trailed at the break, and while the first two Van der Merwe’s tries were finished with a flourish, they also shone a light on England’s fragilities. The manner of defeat will come as a dose of sobering reality for England supporters and a reassessment of where the rebuilding phase really stands. Yet aside from a high-octane opening including a try by George Furbank as early as the seventh minute, the game slipped away from them. This was the moment for Borthwick’s side to kick on, to demonstrate the progress made behind the scenes. With a trip to Italy up next, a potential winner-takes-all showdown awaits with Ireland in Dublin on the final weekend. But where now for England? With too many handling errors, despite the dry conditions, indiscipline at the breakdown and malfunctions both in attack and defence, the progress of the opening two victories stalled and alarmingly so. More importantly for Gregor Townsend’s side, this compelling win thrusts them back into the Six Nations title race. You have to go back to 1896, for the last time Scotland secured four successive victories against England in the championship and Duhan van der Merwe was their history boy, becoming the first Scotland player to score a hat-trick of tries against the auld enemy and delivering the kind of X-factor display that this current English squad simply can’t match. A Calcutta Cup contest that will be forever etched in history.
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