We should have learnt by now the Calcutta Cup laughs in the face of logic, reason and form. An outstanding Scotland controlled much of this match at Murrayfield, dominated the air, and had the mesmeric Finn Russell conducting everything to end England’s winning run.
England travelled north looking to back up last weekend’s comfortable win over Wales with their first win on Scottish soil since 2020 , and though they talked up a wounded Scotland following their defeat to Italy last weekend, complete with under-pressure head coach Gregor Townsend, the visitors were the clear favourites.
But then came the Calcutta Cup twist, and Scotland do love a victory over their oldest rivals. So against that backdrop, Scotland comfortably beat England 31-20, securing the try bonus point in the process, and eased the pressure on Townsend while England’s wait for a statement win away in the championship under Steve Borthwick goes on. England had to play 30 minutes with 14 men with Henry Arundell shown a yellow, and then a second yellow later on in the first half, which translated to a 20-minute red. That numerical disadvantage did for England.
But there has to be an element of celebratory frustration about this Scotland performance: how can they be so brilliantly precise, aggressive and dominant against England just days after their meek surrender against Italy last weekend, and capitulations against the All Blacks and Argentina in November? Those Jekyll and Hyde performances are bemusing when weighed against what played out on Saturday in Edinburgh. Scotland were outstanding and their performance leave you desperate for more.
Scotland had heat on the back of their necks heading into this. Patience in that part of the world was running thin around an outstanding batch of players who were failing to live up to their collective potential. But the Calcutta Cup has a way of galvanising them — form be damned.
And even without Duhan van der Merwe, and the likes of Blair Kinghorn nudged aside, Scotland dominated. Kyle Steyn ruled the air, Matt Fagerson was outstanding off the bench, Rory Darge was immense at openside and then there was Russell who was near-flawless at fly-half. He had a key role in each of their first-half tries, while Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones dominated from the centres. And all this despite a back-pedalling scrum.
All three first-half Scottish tries had elements of wonderful construction in their own right. Jones crossed for the first as Russell’s flicked pass created space on the flanks — an area Scotland were clearly targeting from the off. Then came their second as Scotland spread England wide, and then switched direction, with Russell conducting matters as he found Tuipulotu who swung a pinpoint pass to Jamie Ritchie on the flank to dart in unmarked.
And for their third, Russell glided past the usually ruthless Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill to put a kick in behind England’s defensive line. Ellis Genge failed to collect the ball, Ben White pounced and Murrayfield bounced. For their fourth, England looked to be getting a foothold in the game early in the second half, building pressure on Scotland’s line but then came a charge-down.
Scotland were prepared for George Ford to try a drop-goal at some juncture and when he lined up in the 53rd minute, Fagerson ran out, charged him down, collected the ball, popped it to Jones and that was that. England’s momentum was zapped as Scotland maintained a high level of intensity to close things out. Fagerson’s impact from the bench — a half-time substitute for Ritchie — was momentum-shifting but Steyn, Dodge and Russell laid the foundations.
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This wasn’t the England we have seen win 12 games on the bounce, dispatching any questions levelled their way. Instead they looked porous in defence, second-best in the air, lost the kicking game, and though their scrum was dominant – and should’ve been rewarded further – discipline also let them down.
They average just 1.1 points from nine entries into Scotland’s 22 — four times they knocked the ball on just metres from the line. England looked one-dimensional at times with a performance that was uncharacteristic, frustrating and overwhelmingly, just poor.
This will be bitterly disappointing for England. They were barely off the bus in the opening 20 minutes of the match, caught cold. Ben Earl played his heart out — hardly a surprise — but England just really never clicked.
The poor start left them on the backfoot and Murrayfield is an incredibly tough place to re-find rhythm and form. The charge-down was the moment Scotland won the match but England did have opportunites deep in Scotland’s 22 only for handling errors to let them down. Their sole try was from Arundell, but his match will be remembered for the pair of yellows which saw England contest 30 minutes a man down.
For England, this was meant to be a Six Nations where they went into the fifth round away at France hoping to still be in with a shout for a Grand Slam. After their impressive form through much of last year, this was surely the championship where they took a step forward, and showed themselves to be title contenders.
But instead, they were dispatched to think again by a resurgent Scottish side. England will be frustrated, wounded but still have a shot at the title, but need to regroup with Ireland heading to Twickenham next weekend.
And as for Scotland. Well, Edinburgh will be bouncing. They were brilliant and comprehensively outplayed the auld enemy. But they must turn this into consistency. That lack of being able to back up performances with others of similar intensity has been their Achilles heel, and robbed them of momentum over the past few years.
But bottle this, replicate this intensity and Scotland will take the long-awaited step forward. Townsend was under immense pressure heading into this, and as Russell rightly said post-match, that expectation doesn’t ease anytime soon with a trip to Wales waiting next Saturday. This was Townsend’s 100th match in charge of Scotland. This buys him a shot at the 101st but essentially, a platform for Scotland to build on.
