Asked afterwards about the positives he would take from the defeat, head coach Gregor Townsend had to take time to consider how best to phrase his answer, knowing that the defeat meant that he could not overly praise a performance arguably better than some of those that have proved sufficient to win this fixture over the last four years.
Once most of the England players had dispersed, scrum half Ben Spencer found his Bath half-back partner, a captain consoling a friend turned foe – he and Russell had shared a similarly sore embrace here at Twickenham after their Premiership final defeat to Northampton in June.
There is perhaps nothing as isolating in rugby, described this week by England captain Maro Itoje as the ultimate team game, as a kick at goal; stood alone a few metres from the tee, a great amphitheatre falling silent as one lines up a strike, the match hinging on your putting of boot to ball.
Finn Russell's missed kicks proved costly as Scotland came close but not close enough at Twickenham.
Bath teammate and England prop Will Stuart admitted afterwards that he fully expected his club colleague to land the conversion; England were already planning a restart that would give them an opportunity to snatch a win slipping from their grasp.
