Scotland 7 England 84
It is not known if Damon Runyon, the bard of Broadway, was as keen a follower of the oval ball game as he was of matters of dice and horse.
However, his advice applies universally, whatever the sport. ‘The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong,’ he once said. ‘But that is the way to bet.’
It certainly was in this women’s Guinness Six Nations fixture. This match was so one-sided the pitch almost tilted. The scale of the defeat invited suggestions that Flodden may have been a more appropriate venue rather than Scottish Gas Murrayfield.
Yet England running in 12 tries to Scotland’s one is only part of the story, though a large one. This was an occasion rather than a competition. If there was little fascination in the latter, there was considerable interest in the former.
In the 66th minute, it was announced that 30,498 people had turned up. This merited a round of applause for those assembled and indeed requires further comment. There was, however, another figure on the scoreboard at that moment. It stated Scotland 7 England 63. England were racking up a point a minute, a pace they kept to the end.
Scotland’s Rhona Lloyd is tackled by England centre Ellie Kildunne
The experts will explain all this by means of set-piece domination, line breaks and missed tackles. There is a cruder metric. England are world champions. Scotland are not.
As the bold Runyon would have spotted, England were bigger, stronger. This was evident when the anthems were played and the size of the participants could be judged. It became increasingly so as piercing bagpipes seemed to signal a lament for the ages.
Scotland did make mistakes. The lineout was unreliable and, unforgivably, kicks to touch were missed. But this level of analysis is akin to slating a toddler for missing his first jab against Mike Tyson.
Perversely, though, the mis-match raised questions of significant interest. Are England Women one of those generational teams, like the male West Indian cricketers of the seventies or the Barcelona under Pep Guardiola? The Red Roses have won 35 Guinness Six Nations matches in a row. It must be noted, too, that the Scotland side placed under almost constant siege is the sixth best team in the world and deservedly beat Wales in the opening fixture of this year’s tournament.
Whisper it, too, but this may not even have been England’s strongest side.
So how was Saturday a marvellous occasion and what is the prospect of stronger competition for the blooming Roses?
A record crowd of 30,498 were at Murrayfield for Saturday’s Six Nations game
First, the occasion.
There was a buzz in the Hive. Scotland under-21 women were taking on their English counterparts a couple of hours before the main event. The match followed a traditional narrative in that England won 51-12. But a series of more engrossing stories were told by spectators.
Twickenham welcomed 77,120 for England’s relatively tight 33-12 over Ireland earlier this month. Ashton Gate in Bristol, capacity 27,000, is sold out for the Roses v Wales match on Saturday. The Red Roses cowboy hats were well represented in the Hive and, indeed, on the road to Murrayfield.
The headwear was sported by Kevin Brackley while his partner, Gail Hendry, was showing her Scotland colours. Brackley carried a sign insisting that he still loved his companion.
‘We came here on February 14th when Scotland men defeated England so this is the second part of the double header,’ he said. ‘I have always been a rugby man and women’s rugby is absolutely terrific.’
Scotland and England supporters mix happily in the Murrayfield stands
Hendry agreed, though was realistic about the match. ‘It is always an entertaining day and I believe Scotland are improving but it’s going to be his day today in terms of the result.’
Two brothers sat at the back of the stand, taking in the hors d’oeuvres of the under-21 match before indulging in the main course across the road.
Patrick and Peter Dunne had travelled by train from Wolverhampton, stayed overnight and were heading south after the big match. An expensive weekend? ‘Not for a good rugby match,’ said Patrick. ‘We went to Japan for the men’s world cup and we travel around England for women’s games.’
Patrick, whose daughter played rugby, also refereed women’s games, taking the whistle at an international match in Litchfield in 1997.
‘Women’s rugby has made it their own,’ he said. ‘By that I mean women’s football has tried too hard to be like the men in terms of behaviour. The difference in quality between when I refereed women’s rugby and now is light years. They are athletes and the quality of their rugby…’
Scotland’s Emma Wassell gets to grips with the England team
His brother agreed, pointing out the Roses were technically excellent. ‘Take the kicking, for example, that has moved to the highest level,’ he said.
Neil Murray and his wife, Jill, had a shorter distance to travel with their family. Murray, a former player at Lasswade, has obviously instilled a love of the game in his children. Orla was a flag girl for the day and twins Albie and Elkie are also keen players.
The father, who coaches children at Lasswade, was obviously interested in the finer points of the games but his children were focused largely on the relenting action on the pitch. ‘It’s a great atmosphere,’ said mum, Jill.
The occasion was living up to its billing.
The competition, if it was ever truly one, was over. The victors and the vanquished trooped in to face the press. Three was not much that could be said.
The evidence on the pitch largely spoke for itself. Rachel Malcolm, the Scottish captain, was honest in her assessment. She did plenty of speaking on the pitch. After every try there was a conclave of Scots behind the posts, prompting the ref at one point to tell them to get on with the game.
Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm addresses her team-mates during the game
Any reluctance would have been understandable. There was a realism in Malcolm’s assessment that Scotland were targeting three matches in the tournament and this was not one of them.
‘We were not good enough,’ she added.
There was a valid nod towards circumstances. ‘For those of us who have been about for ten years plus – we come from back pitches and a couple of people in stands – to arrive today and have the reception we got is phenomenal,’ she said.
‘We are the beginning of a new journey.’ This will continue on Saturday against Italy.
Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm signs autographs after the match
The roadblock of England, though, stands in everyone’s way. They are frankly insuperable at this level and remain likely to be so for some time. Asked if this was a team for an era, Jim Mitchell, coach, replied: ‘We are nowhere near where we need to be.’ He did concede, however, that a mantle had been placed on his team’s shoulders: ‘It’s a huge responsibility.’
It is one that is being carried with considerable vigour. The depth of the England squad is profound. The technique was almost flawless, though there were occasional problems in the scrum. The pace and sheer relentlessness of the side was hugely impressive.
It left Sione Fukofuka, the Scotland coach, to conduct a post-mortem rather than a detailed technical analysis. He mentioned defensive errors, mistakes in execution but the truth is that Scotland were simply overwhelmed. It was an occasion, not a contest.
Fukofuka referenced ‘the speed and brutality’ of the English team. It was the Runyon message in all its truth and bluntness.
