England’s 12-game winning streak came shuddering to a halt as they crashed to their heaviest Calcutta Cup defeat in eight years at the hands of fired-up Scotland.
The Scots’ four-try 31-20 triumph at Murrayfield – in which England wing Henry Arundell was shown two yellow cards in the first half – was their biggest in the fixture since 2018.
It was particularly timely for embattled head coach Gregor Townsend, who had come under intense pressure after a grim 18-15 defeat by Italy in his team’s Guinness Six Nations opener last weekend.
While the victory breathed new life into Scotland’s championship and allowed them to lift the Calcutta Cup for the seventh time in nine years, it served as a major blow to England’s hopes of capping their resurgence over the past year with a first title since 2020.
Scotland started strongly and got the scoreboard ticking in the fourth minute when Finn Russell sent a close-range penalty between the posts.
The Scots gained themselves another advantage in the eighth minute as Arundell was yellow-carded for failing to release after the tackle as the hosts made a break towards the try-line.
Townsend’s men swiftly made the extra man count with a brilliant try in the 10th minute as Russell, in the midst of a free-flowing attack, swatted the ball nonchalantly out to the left with one hand for Huw Jones, who eased away from Maro Itoje to score. Russell added the extras.
The Scots were at their swashbuckling best and crossed the whitewash again in the 14th minute when they worked the ball from right to left for Jamie Ritchie to pile over. Russell again converted.
Where Scotland were 12-0 down after quarter of an hour in Rome a week previously, here they found themselves 17-0 to the good by the same stage.
Shortly after returning from the sin-bin, however, Arundell got England up and running in the 21st minute when he was played in next to the posts by a perfectly-delayed pass by George Ford, who duly added the conversion.
The Red Rose reduced their deficit to seven with a Ford penalty in the 26th minute, posing a test of Scotland’s character after they had been pilloried for squandering a 21-0 lead in a home defeat by Argentina in November.
This time they were able to deal with the shift in momentum, however, and they regained control of the scoreboard in the 27th minute. England prop Ellis Genge got in a complete tangle trying to mop up Finn Russell’s deft dink over the top, and Ben White gleefully grabbed the loose ball and bounced over the line. Russell maintained his perfect strike rate off the tee to make it 24-10.
Arundell then left England even further up against it two minutes before the interval when he was shown a second yellow card – equating to a 20-minute red – for taking Kyle Steyn out without making an attempt to challenge the Scotland wing for a high ball.
Ford reduced the deficit to 11 points with a penalty five minutes into the second half.
But Scotland stretched their lead again in the 53rd minute when substitute Matt Fagerson charged down a Ford drop-goal attempt from just outside the 22 and then fed Jones, who darted clear for his second of the match, with Russell converting once more.
It was all set to be the Scots’ biggest win over England for 40 years until Ben Earl crossed on the left in the closing minutes, with Ford converting.
