Finn Russell squanders late conversion as England fend off Scotland to reclaim Calcutta Cup

Finn Russell squandered a last-gasp conversion for victory as Scotland's four-year stranglehold on the Calcutta Cup ended with a nail-biting 16-15 defeat to England.

Fly-half Russell, who has so often been the architect of England's downfall, fired wide of the left post in the final minute at Twickenham following a dramatic touch down from Duhan Van der Merwe.

First-half tries from Ben White and Huw Jones, either side of a converted score from England's Tommy Freeman, put Gregor Townsend's team en route for an unprecedented fifth consecutive win in this fixture.

But the Scots paid a heavy price for failing to turn their early dominance into a greater lead as eight points from Marcus Smith and a long-range Fin Smith penalty turned the contest in the hosts' favour, prior to the sensational finale.

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A fortnight on from a thrilling 26-25 victory over France, Steve Borthwick's side overcame a dismal first-half display to keep alive their Guinness Six Nations title hopes by the finest of margins as they finally savoured redemption against the Scots.

With a win and a defeat apiece from the opening two rounds of the tournament, the rivals came into a pivotal contest each requiring victory to remain in contention for championship glory.

England were installed as heavy favourites by bookmakers but it was Scotland who benefited from a blistering start as Tom Jordan's burst down the left wing allowed scrum-half White to dive over.

The hosts produced a perfect response to the fourth-minute setback, with Freeman adjudged to have grounded a close-range finish at the end of sustained pressure before Marcus Smith slotted the conversion.

Yet, after the pulsating, end-to-end action briefly gave way to a more attritional