Scotland 31-20 England: Gregor Townsend’s side regain Calcutta Cup in Murrayfield thriller
They were finally a little happy. Their completely dominant attack was key and their big runners carried them to 22nd place in Scotland. Resistance continued, but only for so long. Ford’s nice delayed pass sent Arundell in. That’s quite a bit and a half for the wing.
With England threatening to gain ground, Ford soon reduced the gap to seven points. Their break quickly ended as Scotland reached the third point.
Once again it was the great Russell breakthrough that sparked it; The fly half races down the short side, leaps past Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill and manages to kick in the process.
Ellis Genge was in the backfield and seemingly controlling the situation only to slide and let the ball drop. White approached him like a shot and hit a smash and grab that made England sick. Russell also added extras; It was now a 14 point game.
Arundell’s disaster came just before the end of the pulsating half when he blasted Steyn. Second yellow meant 20 minutes of red; England was in big trouble.
The away team’s offensive superiority earned them three more points early in the second half, which started without Ritchie and Underhill on one side. Both were injured. Fagerson and Tom Curry arrived and off we went.
One area England enjoyed was in attack and their muscle from set pieces enabled Ford to narrow the gap early in the second half. These were moments when Scotland had to dig deep.
England were coming to the fore but the Scottish defense held on. Moreover, they let England down. The home team gets nowhere in the 22nd. Ford opted for an easy three with a drop goal in front of the posts.
It backfired. Fagerson came out like a bullet from a gun and took the shot, then picked up the loose ball and fed it to Jones, who galloped away with Scottish delirium in his ears.
Russell handled the conversion and, incredibly, the underdogs were 18 points ahead with a bonus point in the bank.
England emptied the bench, bringing in a number of heavy hitters, but could only manage a late, late try for Earl, converted by Ford. Scotland’s lead was 11 and remained that way despite great enthusiasm from the home fans.
