England edge Scotland 16-15 to keep alive title hopes

LONDON : England ended their Scotland hoodoo with a 16-15 victory at Twickenham on Saturday, ending a run of four straight defeats against their visitors to keep alive their hopes of winning the Six Nations.

The visitors had much the better of the first half, scoring two tries to their hosts' one, but a halftime lead of only three points failed to reflect their dominance.

England improved in the second half and penalties from fullback Marcus Smith and flyhalf Fin Smith edged them in front before a late try from Scotland's Duhan van Der Merwe brought Scotland to within one point of their hosts.

Scotland flyhalf Finn Russell missed the conversion attempt and England held on for a hard-fought victory.