Plenty of positives for England today but Stuart Lancaster won’t be popping
the champagne just yet. The lineout was solid, last week’s problems at the
scrum a distant memory and there was a potency out wide but the head coach
knows sterner tests lie ahead in the shape of Ireland and Wales.
Man-Of-The-Match Mike Brown:
“Losing to France last week was massively frustrating and we wanted to
show a reaction this week. We’ve definitely done that. I’m ecstatic to score
a try. The pitch isn’t in the best condition but I thought we played at a
great tempo.”
For Scotland, defeat in itself is no disgrace against an improving and
powerful England team but the big concern for Scott Johnson and his coaches
is the patent lack of creativity going forward. Today is the Scots’ fourth
consecutive Test without a try and that tells its own, dispiriting story.
Chris Robshaw skips up the stairs at Murrayfield to collect the Calcutta Cup.
Unsurprisingly, the stadium is already half empty as Scotland fans retreat
to ruminate on a disappointing performance.
To be fair, much of Scotland’s defence was gritty and stubborn but they were
outclassed by England today and had the visitors been more accurate in a
number of their attacks, the scoreline could, perhaps should have been
heavier.
FULL TIME: Game over and rarely have England triumphed in Edinburgh so
comfortably.
79 min - Scotland hold firm and the match is reaching its climax. Not a
spectacualr one but the end nonetheless.
77 min – More intense England pressure and one more penalty against
Scotland for good measure. Kick to touch for the attacking lineout…
76 min - Scotland throw caution to the wind in their own 22 in search
of a breakaway score but sadly they also throw the ball into touch
74 min – Pitch report, Number Two. To be fair, the surface hasn’t
disintergrated as badly as first feared. It’s no bowling green but reports
of its demise we perhaps a little exaggerrated.
73 min – England camp once again in the Scotland 22.
72 min – We’ve eight minutes left at Murrayfield and with the game
lost, Scotland will be desperate to avoid a shutout on the scoreboard. To be
honest, they don’t look like scoring a try but we shall see…
71 min – England ring the chages from the bench but tellingly Care
remains on the pitch
70 min – A reprieve for the home side who somehow manage to steal the
ball as England steam forward from close range. A defensive scrum but
altogether more palatable than conceding a third try.
68 min – Powerful England drive from the attacking lineout. Scotland
pull it down and it’s yet another penalty.
67 min – Formidable charge by Vunipola Junior takes England into enemey
territory. Lawes follows suit and England probing all over the pitch.
Hartley has a go, then Twelvetrees, then May. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
No try but another penalty to the men in white.
66 min – Never a good sign when you take your skipper off but Johnson
has pulled Laidlaw and Cusiter is on the field.
64 min – Scotland go through the phases in tidy fashion but they’re
still not getting any change from the England defence.
63 min – Dunbar ready to return to the fray and his side have shipped
seven points in his absence.
61 min – England now threatening to shred the Scotland defence every
time. It’s all about pride for the home side in the final 19 minutes.
60 min – ENGLAND CONVERSION. Farrell turns five points into seven and
England have clear blue water between them and Scotland.
59 min – ENGLAND TRY. The bad news is Brown goes over for England’s
second try after an incisive break from May.
59 min – Good news for Scotland is there’s less than four minutes left
on the Dunbar sinbin.
58 min - The hour mark beckons and the scurge of the modern game that
is en masse, preplanned substitutions looms. Spares us, please.
56 min – Next score is crucial. There’s no way back for Scotland if
their defence is breached but hope will spring eternal should they get on
ther board next.
54 min – Relief for Scotland as England fail to take advantage of their
numerical supremacy, conceding a relieving penalty. The home side are still
in it. Just.
53 min – Another England penalty. They turn down the three points and
go for the attacking lineout.
52 min – Nowell nearly scores in the corner. Scotland snuff out the
danger but it’s illegal and it’s a yellow card for Dunbar for killing the
ball
51 min – Another, uncharacteristic miss from the England 10.
51 min – Scotland pinged for collapsing. Step forward Farrell.
50 min - Attacking scrum to England.
49 min – Superb solo break from May takes England into the 22 and it’s
all hands to the pumps for Scotland.
48 min – Which all ends in a penalty to England and that’s two minutes
of everyone’s life we’re never going to get back.
47 min – A period of uncompleted scrums isn’t helping the Scots cause
either.
46 min – Handbags between Wilson and Wood gets the crowd going but
Scotland don’t have time for theatrics. They don’t stop the clock when the
referee is forced to admonish naughty children.
44 min – Scotland lift their tempo but a spill from Dickinson stops
them in their tracks.
43 min - A spiralling kick from Hpgg takes Scotland to the England 22
but they need to steal the lineout to threaten. Hartley finds Lawes but
Scotland pinch possession on the deck…
42 min – England already on the attack, making metres through Burrell
and May. Scotland stem the tide but ominous signs from a home perspective.
The Scotland lineout creaking badly.
41 min – England, with the exception of May, have emerged in shiny new
white shirts.
41 min – Battle resumes as Farrell launches the ball into the dark
Edinburgh sky. Can Scotland mount a famous fightback or will England finish
them off?
What will Scott Johnson have said in the dressing room? It’s harsh but
Scotland need to play with more intensity. If they can’t, England will
canter to victory. Teams emerging for the second half…
Stuart Lancaster will be delighted with the display of Burrell so far. Speed,
power and percpetive lines of running – the two-cap wonder is staking a
serious claim for a World Cup place.
David Denton has manfully taken the fight to the opposition and Weir has had
his moments but without territory, their contributions have been
overshadowed by the collective effort of the England pack. Like Sexton in
Dublin earlier today, Farrell has enjoyed an armchair ride and the Scotland
backrow as yet have been unable to ruffle his feathers.
From a Scottish perspective, it has been far too comfortable for England. The
visitors haven’t exactly threatened to run riot but they’ve clearly got the
greater cutting edge and Scotland have been forced to play the majority of
their rugby in the wrong half.
HALF TIME
40 min - Searing break from Farrell, offloads to Burrell but he’s
dragged down agonisingly short. Scotland surviveand that’s half-time.
40 min – England camped in the Scotland half and eyeing one more score
before the break from a lineout.
38 min – Scotland struggling to cope with England’s well-executed
rolling maul and concede the penalty for coming in around the side in a
desperate bid to stop the momentum.
36 min - A couple of half breaks from Laidlaw lifts the spirits but
once again the rush defence forces the kick and Nowell calls for the mark
and clears.
35 min – Scotland win a penalty metres inside the England half but its
out of range for Weir, who punts towards the corner. A rare attacking
lineout for the Scots. What can they conjure up? Nothing! England snaffle
possession and kick.
33 min – Scotland’s problem is all their possession is coming in their
own half and England are repeatedly forcing them to kick.
32 min – Danny Care looking lively again and will be hoping no doubt
for a full 80 minutes this week!
30 min – Scotland have to score next. They’ve lacked nothing in terms
of commitment but the truth is the visitors have so far looked as
comfortable as it’s possible for an England side at Murrayfield to look.
29 min – ENGLAND PENALTY. Farrell’s radar is working again and England
stretch their lead.
28 min – Scotland make a mess of a lineout in their 22 and England
pounce. May goes close but the referee is already playing advantage and
Farrell has another chance for three points.
26 min – Scotland not committing bodies at the breakdown and England
keeping the ball relatively easily at this stage.
25 min – Denton takes lineout ball at the back and Scotland are into
enemy territory. Scotland rertain possession but can’t get in behind the
England defence. Hogg is forced to chip to touch.
22 min – A tentative rendition of ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ begins –
greeted by the home fans with some vociferous whsitling. It’s scrum time and
nobody can get a decent footing as the pitch visibly disintegrates.
20 min - The fly-half drags it wide and three points go begging. Are
both kickers off form or is the surface already taking its toll?
19 min – England have achieved their initial objectives. They’ve scored
first and they’ve silenced the Murrayfield crowd. It’s another England
penalty and Farrell is lining it up from distance.
17 min – Close! Laidlaw misses with his second penalty attempt, which
brushes the upright. Scotland needed those points.
16 min – Try came from an attacking lineout. England forwards drive,
Care snipes sideways and Burrell bursts through the defence on a superb
angle from close range. That’s two tries in two Tests for the Northampton
centre.
16 min – ENGLAND CONVERSION. Farrell adds the two points.
15 min – ENGLAND TRY. Luther Burrell scores.
13 min – England up to halfway after Scotland concede a penalty.
England lineout functioning well so far but overall it’s cagey.
12 min – Crunching tackle by Brown on Hogg but Scotland retain
possession. Another charge by Denton, who has been prominent in the early
exchanges.
10 min – He hooks it across the face of the posts and England remain in
front. Encouragement however for the home side.
9 min – Scotland penalty after England come in around the side. It’s a
tough kick for Laidlaw from an acute angle.
8 min – Pitch report, Number One. Not good, not good at all. It seems
only a matter of time before it has a significant effect on proceedings. One
way or the other.
6 min – ENGLAND DROP GOAL. An attacking England lineout in the Scotland
22. Wow, Danny Care lands an audacious drop goal from range and the visitors
have their noses in front.
5 min – England enjoying the early territory but Scotland looking
lively and eager to play with the ball in hand.
4 min - Farrell misses an absolute sitter. He’ll claim he slipped but
it was a dreadful miss.
3 min – Ryan Wilson caught offisde after a high kick, gifting England a
kickable early penalty. Farrell emerges from the crowd and collects the
ball.
2 min – England win the first lineout on their own throw, Farrell
drills it deep.
1 min – A bulldozing early run by Denton lifts the crowd.
1 min – Game on. Weir kicks off and unlike in Paris last weekend,
England catch cleanly and clear.
4.58 - The England boys belt out ‘God Save The Queen’. The
Scotland team respond with ‘Flower Of Scotland’ and the pleasantries are
concluded.
4.55 - Big game for Mike Brown if the anticipated Scottish
aerial bombardment materialises. Scotland are out now and we’re enticingly
close to kick-off.
4.55 – There’s not a a spare seat at Murrayfield and as ever the
Scotland crowd will have a huge part to play today. England, led by Chris
Robshaw, emerge from the tunnel are predictably greeted by a chorus of boos.
No great surprise there.
4.52 – The wisdom of having a band trampling all over the delicate
Murrayfield surface before the game is surely debatable.
4.48 – There’s plenty of inexperience on show today in both XVs in the
shape of Tommy Seymour, Alex Dunbar, Tim Swinson and Chris Fusaro in blue
and Jack Nowell, Luther Burrell and Jonny May in white. Which of the
international novices will thrive on the big stage and who will wither in
the spotlight?
4.44 – There’s rain in the air, which isn’t going to help proceedings.
A feast of running rugby looks unlikely.
4.42 – The Murrayfield pitch already looks decidely poor, with muddy
patches and clear evidence of it cutting up. God help us once the real
action begins.
4.40 – The last four meetings between the two teams have yielded
just one solitary try – and that was a fortuitous charge down by Charlie
Hodgson at Murrayfield two years ago, so a deluge of five-pointers might be
a pipe dream.
4.35 – Scotland’s perennial problem is scoring tries and they’ve failed
to cross the whitewash in their last three Tests. The home fans will be
praying Greig Laidlaw and his trusty right boot are on form.
4.30 – Hello and welcome to our second live Six Nations match coverage
as England venture north of the border to face the wrath of the Murrayfield
crowd. Playing in Edinburgh is as much a ruthless psychological examination
for an England player as it is a game of rugby and Stuart Lancaster’s boys
will be desperately hoping to silence the crowd sooner rather than later.
Preamble
It’s the 132nd instalment of the game’s oldest international fixture and with
Scotland and England both losing last weekend, albeit in starkly contrasting
styles, it’s all about the result at Murrayfield today. Lose and the spectre
of the Wooden Spoon looms that bit larger.
The state of Murrayfield’s nematode-plagued pitch has dominated much of the
pre-match build-up to today’s Calcutta Cup clash and it will be fascinating
to see how it holds up when the heavy beasts in the two packs are unleashed
on the much-maligned surface.
Scotland head coach Scott Johnson hasn’t pulled his punches after last week’s
28-6 mugging by Ireland in Dublin, dropping skipper Kelly Brown for uncapped
Warriors flanker Chris Fusaro and we’ll see over the next 80 minutes whether
it proves to be an inspired or merely kneejerk selection.
“Fusaro is picked to do a certain role and we believe there’s an opportunity
for him to do it,†Johnson said during the week. “We felt the balance wasn’t
right in the team. We needed a ground feeder and Chris fits that.â€
In other team news, Matt Scott replaces Duncan Taylor in midfield while wing
Tommy Seymour deputises for the injured Sean Maitland. Greig Laidlaw assumes
the captaincy as Scotland look for only their fourth win over the auld enemy
in their last 24 cross border skirmishes.
Stuart Lancaster has named the same starting XV for the first time in his
England reign which means Jonny May plays despite breaking his nose in Paris
and means the back line boasts a grand total of 98 caps between them.
There was much collective raising of eyebrows at the timing Lancaster’s
substitutions against the French seven days ago, not least the decision to
haul of Danny Care for Lee Dickson on the hour mark, and it will be
intriguing when to see when the England boss turns to the bench today.
Today’s teams:
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg; 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt
Scott, 11 Sean Lamont; 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c); 8 David Denton,
7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Moray Low, 2
Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Jonny
Gray, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Max Evans
England: 15 Mike Brown; 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy
Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May; 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care; 8 Billy Vunipola,
7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan
Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dave
Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Brad Barritt, 23 Alex Goode
Scotland v England, Six Nations 2014: live
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