England responded with a more prosaic try as Tommy Freeman biffed his way over the line and Marcus Smith – restored to kicking duties after his French nightmare saw him stripped mid-game a fortnight ago – added a nerve-settling conversion but Scotland soon dug into the box of tricks supplied by their annual transformation into the Harlem Globetrotters of Six Nations rugby for this fixture with a second stunning score.
England 16-15 Scotland: Russell’s late conversion drifted wide as England held on for a dramatic Calcutta Cup victory for the first time in five years.
Just three minutes and 33 seconds into proceedings however, England could have been forgiven for thinking ‘not again’... Scotland have made a habit of scoring not just any tries but incredible, barely believable tries in the Calcutta Cup over the past few years and promptly added another to the pantheon.
And England needed every bit of targeted desperation to down a Scotland side that have proved their nemesis during a 1,477-day run of Calcutta Cup success – the longest amount of time in the 154-year history of this fixture that the men from north of the border have held the trophy.
Suddenly, the Borthwick project has momentum, with England now expected to end the Six Nations with four wins for the first time since their 2020 title triumph, while Townsend may face existential questions about his reign.
