Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent & Oisin Doherty

Scotland beat England at the death to pick up Six Nations win at Twickenham

Duhan van der Merwe was the star of the show as Scotland spoiled Steve Borthwick's first game in charge to beat England and take home the Calcutta Cup.

Van der Merwe plundered second try with just six minutes to play secured Scotland's 23-29 to pick up a famous win in Twickenham.

The British and Irish Lions star had already brought Twickenham to its feet with a world-class first-half score that began in his own half and saw five would-be tacklers beaten by his sleight of foot.

READ MORE: Johnny Sexton says he was as nervous as he's ever been for Wales clash

While a magnificent solo score, it exposed a failing in England’s defence that was a recurring theme in the afternoon’s main indicator of a team playing under a new regime for the first time.

But overall it was a promising start to the Borthwick era as they performed with the speed and purpose that was missing in the latter stages of Eddie Jones’ time in charge, before running out of steam in the closing stages.

Max Malins crossed twice and Ellis Genge touched down for England in a seven-try thriller that saw irrepressible Scotland rewarded for refusing to give up.

England were booed from the pitch after a limp defeat by South Africa in their last appearance, the climax to a dire 2022 that resulted in Jones being sacked, but this seven-try thriller was very different.

They had won only one of the last five Calcutta Cup matches and the early omens signposted that run continuing when Huw Jones touched down Sione Tuipulotu’s grubber in the 15th minute.

Earlier in the move, Jones had raced through a wide gap in the midfield defence as Scotland struck off their first attack of the game having been on the ropes for the opening exchanges.

Apart from the all-too-familiar penalty count, there had been much to admire about England’s start and in the 23rd minute they were over, pouncing on the 15th phase of a sustained assault in the 22 when Malins produced a fine finish of Marcus Smith’s crossfield kick.

The brittle home defence was exposed once again as Van der Merwe, taking a pass from Kyle Steyn, left a host of white shirts in his wake as he weaved a path to the whitewash.

It was a classy individual score, but England showed their own flair to engineer a second for Malins as patient build-up and smart handling created a simple run in on the right wing.

An Owen Farrell penalty gave the hosts a one-point interval lead and they were over for a third time through Genge in the 48th minute after a succession of dynamic carries by their pack.

Scotland’s visits to the home 22 were rare but they showed a ruthless streak when they arrived, with Ben White taking advantage of an absent ruck defence to plunder a sharp try.

Veteran prop Dan Cole came on for his first cap since the 2019 World Cup final and forced a penalty at the scrum in his first involvement of the match, giving England the platform to renew their attack.

Farrell landed his second penalty and Russell replied in kind as a nailbiting conclusion approached.

Scotland kept pressing and the breakthrough arrived with six minutes left as Van der Merwe showed his strength to bulldoze over in the left corner and keep the Calcutta Cup in Edinburgh.

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.