Winning start: England captain Chris Robshaw
England profited from a self-destructing Scotland side to open their Six Nations campaign with a 13-6 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Stuart Lancaster's new-look team claimed England's first win in the Scottish capital since 2004 but the result had less to do with a new-era of creativity that English fans had been hoping for than the hosts' inability to convert their chances into points.
Scotland led 6-3 at the end of a boring, error-strewn first half that saw both sides fail to seriously threaten the opposition tryline. On the basis of those 40 minutes and the day's earlier game in Paris, neither England nor Scotland will travel to Rome confident of victory this year.
With both sides flooding the breakdown, attacking opportunities from quick ball were few and far between. And rare chances to spread the ball were generally ruined by poor handling or aimless kicking.
An opportunistic try from England fly-half Charlie Hodgson just seconds after the restart sparked the game into life however.
A far more-exciting second period saw Scotland throw the kitchen sink at a well-disciplined English defence but the home fans were left frustrated as their team conspired to make a hash of a number of scoring opportunities.
A scrappy opening quarter ended the with scores locked at 0-0 as Dan Parks kicked most of Scotland's possession away and a series of handling errors and ruck infringements prevented England from finding any sort of rhythm on attack.
It took just over 22 minutes for the first points to be scored courtesy of the boot of debutant England centre Owen Farrell. The hosts took less than three minutes to reply however as the visitors failed to stay on their feet and Parks slotted an easy penalty to restore the status quo.
The Scots began to ply the pressure and Parks split the uprights once again just after the half-hour mark to give his side a deserved lead which they held until the half-time whistle.
The game desperately needed a try and it came within seconds of kick-off when Hodgson charged down a lethargic Parks on the Scottish tryline before pouncing on the loose ball.
Farrell's extra's gave England a 10-6 lead, prompting Scotland up the tempo and the men in blue did most the playing in the second half, dominating territory and possession.
The introduction of Glasgow half-backs Greg Laidlaw and Mike Blair added extra impetus to their attack but the hosts continued to be the architects of their own downfall.
Laidlaw came within inches - literally - from grabbing the lead for Scotland after a kick and chase, but the TMO ruled he failed to touch the ball down ahead of Ben Youngs, while Ross Rennie butchered a fantastic chance to put Blair through.
A late penalty from Farrell settled England's nerves and secured a winning start to a new era.
Man of the match: It's rare that a player from the losing side gets this award but number eight David Denton was a tireless grafter and a standout performer in Scotland's back row.
Moment of the match: Scotland's match cam be summed up it one moment. Ross Rennie's wasted opportunity when he failed to find the two runners on his outside and instead decided to hang on was classic example of the hosts' inability land the killer blow.
Villain of the match: No rough stuff to report.
For England:
Try: Hodgson
Con: Farrell
Pen: Farrell
Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford (capt), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Graeme Morrison.
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt) 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official: Tony Redmond (Ireland)
Comments
ABlack says...
Denton was the best forward, the best player and probably the best back. The Skill level was embarassing.....except for Denton
Posted 20:46 04th February 2012
Chubbylugs says...
I thought the game was enjoyable, just for the level of tension. Despite other comments I thought englands defines was very good, except for 3-4 shockers. Botha was man of the match for my money. His work rate was immense and tackle count must be in the 20s.
To put it in to context, this was an away fixture playing for the first time as a squad. The negativity seems to belongs to the Usual anti English morons who can't bear to see us win and were hoping to kick us while were down.
I think a better side would have put us away, but this is a good starting point. Well done England!
Posted 20:40 04th February 2012
mjdebues92 says...
England didn't exactly look like scoring tries but making 142 tackles, having less possession and territory while still managing to pull of their first win in Scotland since 2004 is not exactly a bad start. Scotland may have been messy and were incapable of finishing but some credit had to go to England. It would have been easy for them to let that game slip away.
Overall, frustrating game though, can't believe how often I was left thinking "why did they do that?" when it came to Scotland's attack.
Posted 20:34 04th February 2012
Egdar says...
@Suilven - you're dreaming mate! Even my English rugby - hating Kiwi wife knows that wasn't a try. England were lucky Scotland are so rubbish at finishing off all their hard work. Any other 6N team would have done better in that area and won the game.
Ashton defended well, as did Barritt, but very average in attack. Youngs looked lifeless- as scrum half you have to be the team energizer. Can anyone get Danny Care to do some community service and ask SL to cancel his suspension?
Posted 20:28 04th February 2012
MacGyver says...
I am a Bok supporter. I told my wife this morning I plan to watch rugby this afternoon because the news on the street was that England were there for the taking and Scotland had a chance to get one over their old foes. This was Scotland's moment to shine. Why did I bother? In the second half there was a moment I almost, almost cheered for the poms. Scotland please get out of the Six Nations. Let this be a message to Six nation chiefs to made a two tier competition made up of five teams each in teir A and B respectively. The bottom team of tier A get related and the top team from team B get promoted OR a playoff between the two - preferably not.
Posted 20:14 04th February 2012
NHsaints says...
Promising stuff from Englands forwards at least...I thought they'd dominate us in the tight 5 but we put up a pretty good fight there so I'm happy with that, the backs aren't looking creative enough but they will once we get Flood and Tuilagi back, Strettle had a solid enough game and the backrow just need more time to click...Dowson was alright and Robshaw was good (Definitely think Croft will be replaced by Wood when he gets back though) anyways a win is a win and to do it against a settled scotland side in Scotland makes it more than worthwhile.
Posted 20:07 04th February 2012
makemehappy says...
England are a joke - Scotland clueless. That was a Scotland win several times over. England were awful in defence, with overlap after overlap being there for Scotland. Both will be glad they weren't playing a team that could finish. Maybe Italy won't be bottom of the pile!
Posted 20:06 04th February 2012
GoWalesGo says...
Scotland will never be an expansive side even if they change coaches.
Oh and that was not a try correct decision by the tmo.
Posted 20:04 04th February 2012
carpelone says...
Clancy is one of the poorest referees in business. First of all, he is from Limerick, this means that he does not know how to administer the breakdown, nor that putting hands in ruck should result in penalties.
Having said that, very frustrating game from a Scottish point of view, it is time to question Robinson's ability to manage the material we have.
Well done to Denton, good man from Zim.
Italy could shock England next week.
Posted 19:59 04th February 2012
scot_rsa says...
Clear signs here. Scotland A thrash the Saxons last night and yet we still put out a conservative backline in the national side, hoping to win with the odd kick. Nothing to lose now, bring those youngs guys through, the tempo of the game lifted with Laidlaw on and, with a good backs coach, we can remedy this. England fans, you actually seem pretty humble in victory - your team showed a lot of character today, just very little in the way of scoring chances. At least you convert them though. I've always stood by AR and I think he has the attitude, reckon we also need some real coaching though, and allow the young guns their head. This is a low point.
Posted 19:57 04th February 2012
suilven says...
@Biglolrugbyballs Strangely enough, I've never seen or heard anyone from Southern Hemisphere mock Scotland. Or maybe you were talking about how the world sees English rugby? Wouldn't disagree there!
"Disciplined" - just cos dear Mr Clancy doesn't see indiscipline doesn't mean it isn't happening.
And that was a great try from Greg Laidlaw, not sure how the TMO thought Laidlaw's hand pushing the ball down, changing its direction, was not a try. Every different camera angle just made it clearer!
I know which team played the better, more attacking rugby today - shame they didn't win.
Posted 19:54 04th February 2012
TVaddict says...
Well, to be honest I didn't expect an English win, but I'm not complaining!
Need much more work at securing possession, and a better attack in general. We've got great crash ball players in Dowson, Robshaw and Barritt but I don't feel we used them at all. Also, Strettle really impressed me, hopefully we can get the back three more ball in space so they can show what they're really capable of. Mouritz Botha was so physical, he really worked hard to keep his place in the team, and he deserves to keep it. I thought Dowson made too many errors and not enough of an impression. Ben Youngs looked lost and unexciting.
All round though, good grit and determination from the team. Although, I do feel it was Scotland that lost it, rather than England that won it.
Next week, if none of the injuries are better, I'd like:
15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Jordan Turner-Hal, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson , 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt) 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Mike Brown.
Posted 19:44 04th February 2012
J_HDK says...
Correctly disallowed try. No downward pressure. Dire game. Have wer just witnessed the wooden spoon decider?
Posted 19:44 04th February 2012
melkdave says...
Well a good defencive performance from England who didnt give penalties away But alot of work needed in retaining the ball and building attacking phases Italy will be targeting those open spaces out wide i feel.Also surprised England had the scotish scrum for breakfast thought Scotland with that front 5 would have an edge there .As to Scotland missed an oppotunity to start a 6Ns with a win showed alot of promise as usual but excution was very bad as usual .Scrum was woeful in an area they should have dominated imo and as i said elsewhere Parks at FH just cant get a backline moving Why Blair and Laidlaw didnt start is baffaling to me given their form atm Should be one hell of a match against Wales next week as the Scotland players will want to show they can play and i expect changes espically at half back for Scotland and them to play with more passion and pace
Posted 19:43 04th February 2012
keste03 says...
Best team always win - Scotland destined for the wooden spoon. Wonder how many of those Calcutta Cup Winners t-shirs they have sold ;)
Posted 19:36 04th February 2012
Rosbif says...
hmmm. other than Denton, not many here who will make it into PR's 6N team of the week i imagine.... Eng will be happy with an away W. Murrayfield in February is never easy....
Posted 19:35 04th February 2012
andyf says...
FOR SALE.JOB LOT.SCOTLAND CALCUTTA CUP CHAMPIONS 2012 T SHIRTS.
Posted 19:33 04th February 2012
quietbrit says...
England very lucky to get away with the win.
20-6 to Scotland would have been a fair reflection of Englands dogged but flawed defense and general inability to attack Scotland. Sadly the Scots lost this game because they just can't seem to finish, they really should have converted at least 2 of their chances...
Posted 19:31 04th February 2012
jtimkins says...
That try shouldn'tve been disallowed, but still Scotland didn't deserve to win either. The two weakest teams in the six nations putting on a weak performance there'll be hot competition for the Wooden Spoon this year!
Posted 19:26 04th February 2012
Greyprop says...
I felt that George Clancy had a very poor game. He had no idea what was going on at the scrum, and as for the breakdown, it was an utter shambles.
As a neutral I reckon Scotland need a new coach - soon.
Posted 19:16 04th February 2012