SCOTLAND 20-17 ENGLAND
Scotland retained the Calcutta Cup for the first time since 1984 after rallying in the second half to stun Eddie Jones men.
Marcus Smith had put England 3-0 ahead and the Scots had Ali Price off for a Head Injury Assessment when Darcy Graham made a stunning clean break and teed up sub scrumhalf Ben White to score. Finn Russell converted but Smith tagged back three points before half-time.
The second half started with Russell and Smith trading penalties before England went ahead after a scrum under the shadow of the Scottish posts. While the Scots dug in for a big drive, England had a strike-play planned, and Smith came haring in to score a fine try.
Luke Cowan-Dickie and a costly decision
With 15 minutes to go, a cross-field kick had England in lots of trouble. Luke Cowan-Dickie blatantly batted it down, preventing what would have been a sure score. The result was a penalty try that levelled matters, a yellow card for Cowan-Dickie and prop Joe Marler throwing into lineouts.
The momentum was firmly behind the home side and Finn Russell held his nerve with a kick when England erred. Seven minutes to go and Scotland led 20-17. England had a late chance to get a score but had a lineout stolen. There was a knock on, four re-set scrums, and England spill and the last hope flew out the win.
Many of the England players were livid at the re-set scrums, at the death, when they clearly had the upper-hand. As it stands, though, there Grand Slam and Triple Crown dreams are dashed. They now must win all four final games to have a championship chance.
Here’s how we rated both sets of players from the starting XVs.
ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS
Freddie Steward – 7
Max Malins – 7
Elliot Daly – 5
Henry Slade – 6
Joe Marchant – 5
Marcus Smith – 8
Ben Youngs – 7
Ellis Genge – 7
Luke Cowan-Dickie – 5
Kyle Sinckler – 7
Maro Itoje – 6
Nick Isiekwe – 5
Lewis Ludlam – 7
Tom Curry – 5
Sam Simmonds – 8
SCOTLAND PLAYER RATINGS
Stuart Hogg – 7
Darcy Graham – 8
Chris Harris – 6
Sam Johnson – 6
Duhan van der Merwe – 7
Finn Russell – 8
Ali Price – 7
Rory Sutherland – 7
George Turner – 7
Zander Fagerson – 8
Jonny Gray – 7.5
Grant Gilchrist – 7
Jamie Ritchie – 6
Hamish Watson – 7.5
Matt Fagerson – 8
REPLACEMENT RATING – Ben White gets a 7 for his try-scoring cameo.
