This was a delightful reminder of all those harsh and thrilling raw-boned matches that used to take place between the two great rivals at Murrayfield, and the dear old ground absolutely adored it. The margin of Scotland’s thunderous win was nowhere remotely represented on the scoreboard, but it revived their whole season and their hollow era after the colossal stitch-up they suffered from the draw at last year’s World Cup.
The shining light was beyond any doubt the blond powerhouse on the left wing of Duhan van der Merwe, who scored a resounding hat-trick, taking his tally to 26 tries in 37 Tests, and throughout the whole game he looked a player of true world class. He may not be from the Borders or Glasgow or Edinburgh, but he was as popular as if he had been born in all three places.
When you have a finisher like the South Africa-born wing and a glorious player to marshal the team such as the great Finn Russell then you are in business, and if you add to that the passion of the Scottish forwards, and the direction they took from Ben White at scrum half, you have some team. Thoroughly deserved, thoroughly thrilling as Scotland made it a fourth Calcutta Cup victory in a row.
England did their very best to pick up the pace, to try to use their attacking players, but in the end they did not have remotely the authority in the forwards, not remotely the requisite power that they needed to subdue the Scots.
Ben Earl played with real dash at No 8 but although Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum began splendidly, both they and the whole team lost any hope of seizing the occasion once Deadly Duhan had started to operate.
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We knew that England are not a great side — they have yet to break loose in the Steve Borthwick era — and they are almost certainly going to occupy a lowly place in the final Six Nations table. On the credit side, they at least tried to launch attacks, but they did not quite have the quality of Scotland, and there could well be changes for their next game, against the formidable Irish.
This was all such a shame for the England captain, Jamie George, whose mother Jane died last Wednesday, and, as usual, George handled the defeat and all the sorrow of his loss in a quality way. What he did not have beside him was enough firepower to put the game to bed and England really must find some answers before they face Ireland in a fortnight.
From the outset on Saturday we were treated to a wonder of all wonders — the teams had clearly decided not to hang around all afternoon until they could kick a penalty or wait until the other lot made a mistake. England used their attacking muscle and, although Scotland had a really mediocre start, by the middle of the half they had enough edges and execution to score two memorable tries, and they were still leading 17-13 at half-time.
England had George Furbank in the action from the early stages. Good on them for picking an attacking full back — ahead of Freddie Steward — and then using him. They started with intensity — Earl had already impressed with his pace from the back of the scrum when he set off into the Scotland midfield at a rate of knots. Danny Care and George Ford handled and, with Ollie Lawrence coming back on the diagonal to draw the defence, this gave Elliot Daly the chance to send Furbank striding through for the try.
It was beautifully done and a penalty by Ford made it 10-0 to England without Scotland having remotely found themselves. But when they did, they brought Murrayfield to its feet with rare excitement. They ran the ball from a set piece, but this time White found not Russell but the bustling figure of Sione Tuipulotu. That allowed Tuipulotu to send Huw Jones on his way and, with Daly outnumbered in the tackle, Van der Merwe was able to score in the corner.
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That was thrilling enough, but what came soon afterwards took the biscuit and in fact, every biscuit in the tin.
Ford and Furbank could not quite find each other attacking to their right and the ball found Van der Merwe about 65 metres out. The wing checked slightly, ran a beautiful outside arc and then all the way down the left touchline to score. It was one of the most memorable tries the old ground has seen. This banished the early memories of Scotland’s struggle.
Russell kicked both conversions and although Ford was able to kick one of his trademark drop-goals, by half-time Scotland still had four precious points of daylight as they disappeared down the tunnel.
The second half was not quite as sweeping and ambitious but it was still utterly compelling and the match lurched significantly towards Scotland when Van der Merwe completed a glorious hat-trick.
By this time, the competitive Tuipulotu had been replaced by Cameron Redpath, one of a glittering array of Scottish backs. Redpath had to go back to field a high kick out of defence but he turned and sprinted through the England defenders, the ball was recycled and the perfect diagonal kick by Russell bounced up for Van der Merwe’s third try and suddenly it was 24-13.
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Matters then became rather strained. England had a rare attack and Scotland were penalised — although they were extremely fortunate to be awarded the shot at goal after Genge appeared to dive shoulder first into a ruck with players prone and the ball nowhere near.
When Ford added the penalty to bring it to 24-16, the game was still anybody’s to win, and Ben Spencer was by now on the field and playing effectively and intelligently as the replacement scrum half. However, Scotland’s enthusiasm and pressure won them back-to-back penalties, allowing Russell to stretch the lead.
Suddenly, out of the blue, came a try from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, when the wing poached from Cardiff unleashed a decent burst of speed with the Scotland defence out of position. It was a try, after 67 minutes, which revived a match that appeared to be over, and it was now the replacements who had all the responsibilities as Scotland held on to a nine-point lead despite a late yellow card for Van der Merwe.
England’s hearts stayed strong, but their deficiencies were always obvious, their rhythm non-existent. George deserved better, and England’s almost permanent station by the drawing board will be repeated for the rest of this tournament.
Scorers: Scotland: Tries Van der Merwe 3 (20min, 30, 45). Cons Russell 3. Pens Russell 3 (35, 59, 67). England: Tries Furbank (5), Feyi-Waboso (67). Con Ford. Pens Ford 2 (15, 50). Drop-goal Ford (36). Yellow card Van der Merwe 79min.
Scotland
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15. Blair Kinghorn – One of the best full backs Scotland have in the era. An accomplished match. 8/10
14. Kyle Steyn – Ball did not run his way as it did for Van der Merwe, but a highly competent footballer. 6
13. Huw Jones – Played major part in first try at a time when things were going badly. 8
12. Sione Tuipulotu – Every team needs a Sione, to beast the ball up and be competitive in tight areas. 7
11. Duhan van der Merwe – Absolutely brilliant, not only in his scoring of tries but he is also an impeccable all-round player. 10
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10. Finn Russell – Absolutely brilliant, the King of Scotland and marshalled the team quite beautifully. 9
9. Ben White – Has grown into job superbly; almost as authoritative as Russell. Time is on his side. 8
1. Pierre Schoeman – Another not born in the Borders but now in Scottish hearts. Tremendous up front. 7
2. George Turner – Great battle with George. Throwing appeared impeccable and he was all over the field. 7
3. Zander Fagerson – They really do need him to stay fit and firing. Should treasure him while he is there. 8
4. Grant Gilchrist – He and his partner were up against great locks but gave it a major effort and lacked nothing. 7
5. Scott Cummings – Excellent around field and tight phases. Must keep up this level for the rest of the season. 7
6. Jamie Ritchie – A surprise selection but one of his better games for country. Energy was striking. 7
7. Rory Darge – Up against a formidable back row but was inexhaustible, and his tackling was ferocious. 8
8. Jack Dempsey – Work rate and courage recalled great boxer with same name. Tremendous carrying. 8
England
15. George Furbank – Involved in error which gave away first Scotland try but deserves another chance. 6
14. Tommy Freeman – Ball never really ran his way, a great shame because yet again his talents were wasted. 6
13. Henry Slade – On form. Played part in every department but in the end did not change the course. 7
12. Ollie Lawrence – Welcomed back after injury, made one or two errors but England will surely persist with him. 7
11. Elliot Daly – Outnumbered in defence. You wonder if he would be more effective in midfield. 6
10. George Ford – Hardly his fault he dropped out of the game in the second and third quarters. Still sharp. 7
9. Danny Care – Surprising that England did not start Spencer. Valiant but not effective. 5
1. Ellis Genge – Could not impose himself. Rumbustious as usual but do England need to look elsewhere? 5
2. Jamie George – Played his part as he grows as captain, having had a difficult start to his tenure with the recent death of his mother. 7
3. Dan Cole – Grand veteran played well in the early stages but he disappeared after that. 5
4. Maro Itoje – You sense that if England revived, it would come around him. Had hands full all day. 6
5. Ollie Chessum – Handy in lineout, a presence around the field and must definitely stay for the season. 7
6. Ethan Roots – Surprisingly inconspicuous, it was all hands to the pumps in the back row. Reshuffle needed. 5
7. Sam Underhill – Gave it the kitchen sink, but again England may be looking to alter balance in back row. 6
8. Ben Earl – Started extremely well, but suffered from lack of front-foot ball. Struggled to keep up level. 6
