England almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday as a late, late Scotland try saw the visitors come within inches of making history at Twickenham.
With the tie set-up at 10-10 going into the final 20 minutes, Marcus Smith and then Fin Smith kicked to open up a six-point gap and put Steve Borthwick’s side on the verge of a huge win.
Duhan van der Merwe, though, went over after great work from Stafford McDowall, and Finn Russell only had to kick for victory. To England’s delight, he missed – and England secured a 16-15 win.
Ireland remain strong favourites to win the Six Nations, but this Calcutta Cup victory – England’s first in five years – will give Steve Borthwick’s side a lot of hope and confidence at a vital time in the competition. For Scotland, their hopes of victory are now gone, and they will now assess what went wrong as they were left with their hands on their hips in the final moments.
But which player irritated the home fans during first half? Who made a difference in the lineout for the hosts? And who put in a ‘colossal display’ for the unlucky Scots?
Mail Sport’s CHRIS FOY and CALUM CROWE were at Twickenham to rate the players.
England – Chris Foy
Marcus Smith: Repeatedly tested and troubled by Scottish high kicks then sliced a clearance before fast break nearly set up a try. Kept probing from deep. 5.5
Tommy Freeman: Struck for early try to pick up where he left off against France, but suspicion it had not been grounded. Few other chances to cut loose out wide. 6
Ollie Lawrence: Missed Van der Merwe in lead-up to Scotland’s opener. Huge shot on Ritchie soon after then scything run before break. Kept threatening visitors. 7
Henry Slade: Kicked away possession early on and few chances to dictate and distribute. Spent his time living off scraps in midfield and scrambling to contain Scots. 5
Ollie Sleightholme: Culpable when Scotland scored first try; with loose kick and missed tackle. Had a few more erratic moments as the hosts were stretched out wide. 5
Fin Smith: Had nothing to work with before half-time as Scotland controlled possession and territory but nice touches as tide turned and nerveless long penalty. 6
Alex Mitchell: The sight of him sending an endless stream of box kicks skywards began to irritate the crowd and the first boos rang out soon after half-time. 5
Ellis Genge: It was another day when the English scrum provided a reliable platform and he hurled himself into collisions with gusto as carrier and tackler. 6
Luke Cowan-Dickie: Lineout delivery was good after some lapses in previous game and he produced several trademark chop tackles and robust maul defence. 6
Will Stuart: Played for several minutes without a boot and after retrieving it he contributed to solid scrum effort. Long, committed shift at the sharp end. 6
Maro Itoje: Penalised at lineout amid team discipline trouble in first half and struggled to impose authority initially but grew into the game as England rallied. 6.5
Ollie Chessum: He was brought back into England’s starting XV to add lineout presence, athleticism and imposing physicality and he emphatically delivered. 7
Tom Curry: Following his two supreme performances in the earlier championships rounds he wasn’t quite as influential as he was bashed up and hobbling before limping off. 6
Tom Willis: Another home player to be penalised as indiscipline scarred their first-half efforts but managed a strong, route-one charge later before being replaced early. 5
Ben Earl: Busy with the celebratory fist-pumping celebrations but also became increasingly involved as a carrying outlet whenever England built momentum. 6.5
Replacements: J George (for Cowan-Dickie) – 6, F Baxter (for Genge) – 5, C Cunningham-South (for T Curry) – 6, B Curry (for Willis) – 6.5, H Randall (for Mitchell) – 6, E Daly (for Sleightholme) – 5.5.
Scotland – Calum Crowe
Blair Kinghorn: Played a key role in creation of first two tries. Guilty of overplaying at times and going for offloads that were never really there. 7.5
Kyle Rowe: Came in for Darcy Graham on the wing and didn’t really put a foot wrong. Always lively when he got the ball in hand and caused England problems with nifty footwork. 7.5
Huw Jones: Really clinical and powerful finish to score in the corner for Scotland’s second try. Now has six in the Calcutta Cup. Faded in second half. 8
Tom Jordan: Great awareness and composure to find the pass back inside for White to score the opening try. Took a couple of huge hits as England flew up and smashed him. 7.5
Duhan Van Der Merwe: Terrorised England once again out wide. Created so much space for others with his carries and offloads. Scored right at the death but it wasn’t enough. 8
Finn Russell: Missed the vital conversion that would have won the game for Scotland. Also missed a few tackles on what was one of his poorest days against England. Loose, ragged and out of sorts. 6.5
Ben White: Opened the scoring after just four minutes and now has three tries in three games in this year’s championship. Replaced by Dobie in second half. 7
Pierre Schoeman: Probably unlucky to be penalised by some 50-50 calls in the scrum by the referee. But he got through plenty of work and made some decent carries. 7
Dave Cherry: Made a couple of really punchy carries and his work in the set-piece was solid enough. Got involved in the loose during Scotland’s first-half onslaught. 7
Zander Fargerson: Never really managed to assert any dominance in the scrum but still such a valuable player to Scotland with his overall contribution. 7
Jonny Gray: Tackled well but probably had a quieter day than he would have expected given how England chose to repeatedly kick the ball away. 7
Grant Gilchrist: Didn’t have the same punch or impact as England rival Itoje. But still stuck to his task and gave every ounce. 7
Jamie Ritchie: Relentless with the way he chased every kick and put England under pressure at the breakdown. An absolutely colossal display from the former skipper. Didn’t deserve to lose. 9
Rory Darge: This was the first experience of Twickenham for the Scotland co-captain but he wasn’t anywhere near as influential as normal. 6.5
Jack Dempsey: Carried hard and always managed to find some decent yards to get Scotland over the gain-line. Decent shift before he was replaced shortly before the hour. 7
Replacements: Ewan Ashman (for Cherry 55), Matt Fagerson (for Dempsey 55), Sam Skinner (for Jonny Gray 62), Stafford McDowall (for Tom Jordan 65), Jamie Dobie (for Ben White 65), Jamie Bhatti (for Schoeman 70), Gregor Brown (for Gilchrist 70), Will Hurd (for Z Fagerson 77).
