England 6-11 Scotland: Historic victory in Calcutta Cup

Scotland dominated England to win at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years in the 150th anniversary of the famous rugby rivalry.

A first half try from Duhan van der Merwe told only a fraction of the story as Gregor Townsend’s men put in a bruising 80 minutes where the Six Nations holders were unable to get a foothold in the match.

It was the first away Calcutta Cup triumph for Scotland since 1983 and it was a performance that will be remembered for decades to come.

Scotland started the game with aggressive intent as three consecutive penalty awards took them into the England 22.

A fourth breakdown penalty conceded by England beneath the posts allowed Finn Russell a simple kick to open the scoring.

English indiscipline was the theme of the opening quarter and Billy Vunipola paid the price with a yellow card on 23 minutes.

Scotland knocked at the door from close range but could not muscle over the line and it took an attack from deep to finally breach the defence.

Gathering the ball in midfield Russell’s up and under was won and Matt Fagerson made a big carry to get Scotland on the front foot.

Exploiting an overload the Scots played it from right wing to left where Duhan van der Merwe finished powerfully through three attempted tackles with half an hour on the clock.

The hosts were spurred into action as Vunipola re-entered the field. Some good pressure in Scottish territory lead to two kickable penalties, which Owen Farrell kicked to reduce the lead to 8-6.

Russell was subsequently sent to the sin bin for a deliberate trip and the Red Roses were well in the contest at half time.

With nearly eight minutes of time to kill before they could regain to their full compliment of 15 players after the resumption, Scotland kept the ball tight and ground out the phases to eat up clock and they got a three point reward as Russell returned to the field to pop over a penalty inside the 22.

Still Scotland held all the territory and possession but their one chance to move the scoreboard from a penalty was spurned by Russell and a big turnover by England defending a maul on their own line looked to shift them some momentum.

It was heart in mouth stuff for both sides now as England’s bench injected some legs into their game. It was now Scotland’s turn to come up big in defence.

Hogg missed another long range penalty that could have given them breathing space but the men in dark blue jerseys refused to let themselves be set back.

Russell tried a drop goal but botched his handling with just a minute to go. England had one last chance from a scrum on their own 10m line.

After all that had gone before the white shirts barely looked like they believed they could do it themselves.

The peerless Hamish Watson turned the ball over and launched the ball into the empty Twickenham stand to seal a famous victory.

Scotland Player Ratings

Stuart Hogg 9 – Broke lines with the ball in hand and made some sensational exits from his huge boot to release the pressure when it came.
Sean Maitland 8 – Kick chase was a weapon and always eager to get at spaces on the break.
Chris Harris 7 – Got across gainline more often than not but not one of Scotland’s busier carriers.
Cam Redpath 8 – Quickly made an impression on his international debut with elusive running and some nice work at second receiver.
Duhan van der Merwe 8 – The Edinburgh try machine finished explosively for the try.
Finn Russell 8 – Varied the attack and made some clever short kicks behind the line. Blotted his copybook with a yellow card late in the first half.
Ali Price 8 – Game management was outstanding as Scotland held the ball tight to start the second half and showed his maturity and leadership.
Rory Sutherland 8 – Varied success at the scrum but carried and tackled with power and attitide.
George Turner 8 – Brilliant accuracy in the line out and carried hard to sustain Scotland’s front foot ball.
Zander Fagerson 7 – His side of the scrum had its wobbles but he emerged without much damage done at the set piece. A monster presence in the loose and at the breakdown.
Scott Cummings 8 – Stood tall in collisions and part of a power that put England under near-constant pressure.
Jonny Gray 9 – Close to immaculate in the line out and his diesel engine power and work rate was on full display.
Jamie Ritchie 8 – Got everywhere up against England’s much-admired back row.
Hamish Watson 9 – Long known as a world class number 7, Watson seemed to take his game to a new level in aggression and speed across the field. Immense.
Matt Fagerson 9 – Came of age in a test shirt with belligerent carrying and work rate. Part of a back row that stood up, was counted – and then some.
Replacements 9 – Just as England’s finishers looked like giving them a foothold, the Scots bench emptied to pick up the baton and see Scotland over the line.