With one game to go, Scotland are undeniably the favourites for the wooden spoon. An agonising loss at the hands of Italy a fortnight ago caused them to sink to the base of the Six Nations table. At Twickenham, they attempted to exorcise their Italian demons by putting in a proud performance, and they certainly gave a very good account of themselves.
England vs. Scotland: England Frustrated By Scottish Resistance
Scotland were in the game for 76 minutes, only losing 20-13, before England winger, Jack Nowell, finished in the corner to rubber-stamp the result: 25-13.
Their points came through the boot of Greig Laidlaw and a beautifully worked Mark Bennett try in the 22nd minute; the result of good hands and excellent support lines from Laidlaw, Jonny Gray, Finn Russell and Rob Harley. Bennett’s consistency is one of a limited list of positives for Scotland from the Six Nations, and him, along with Stuart Hogg, are Scotland’s two most impressive backs at the moment.
However, their front-line defence was flimsy and porous – England did not have to try particularly hard to permeate the Scots’ line. The Men in White made eleven clean line breaks, compared to Scotland’s four, so there is clearly a problem with either the defensive system, or the tackling (the latter seeming unlikely). The defence coach, Matt Taylor, has been instilling his own system since he took over in 2012, but nevertheless; he has his work cut out to address the defensive deficiencies of his side, before they face Ireland next week.
Any mistakes the Scots made in their up-front defence, they certainly rectified in their scramble defence. Eleven line breaks, but only three tries conceded, points to the fact that, in the most part, Scotland recouped well and prevented the English from scoring. This was exemplified by Hogg’s try-saving tackle on Mike Brown in the 13th minute, which stopped England from galloping further ahead. A higher degree of initial defensive solidity and Scotland’s chances of winning a test match would be heightened considerably.
Also, whereas they have wasted chances in recent times, in this match, they showed incision we have missed from Scotland’s game thus far in 2015. They rarely visited England’s 22, but when they did, they took all the points they could; however, this was only in the first-half.
In the second-half, as they began to tire, they were starved of possession and found themselves on the back foot, as England began to turn the screw. Perhaps they were caught in the headlights after half-time, as it was the first time Scotland had been in front at half-time at Twickenham since 1989, which would explain their slow start to the second period.
The top hats of the English were definitely removed at the endeavour and tenacity of Scotland on Saturday evening, especially for hanging in until the last moment. They have proven that they are a gritty side, and are not too distant from strong teams, such as England and Wales. Their sole aim was to demonstrate their potential through a vastly improved performance, which they did successfully. A tighter defence, and continued effort in recovering to rescue dangerous situations, and this Scotland team could push on to great things.
They have one last chance to prove their worth next week, when they host Ireland at Murrayfield. Ireland’s backs should not pose such a tricky threat as England’s, however tactically; they will be a handful for the Scots. It will be a first Six Nations head-to-head of two fine New Zealand coaches, Vern Cotter and Joe Schmidt. Cotter will seek to get one-up over his compatriot to deny Ireland from winning the Six Nations, and Scotland from receiving the wooden spoon.
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