It wasn’t just Luke Cowan-Dickie who cost England a victory against Scotland

Edinburgh delivered, weather and all. Somehow, in difficult blustery conditions both teams put on a show. England dominated possession and territory stats, a metric they have long believed defines victory, but Scotland came out on top.

Much has been made of Luke Cowan-Dickie’s volleyball flap, and rightly so as it was a big moment in the game, gifting Scotland seven points and reducing England to 14 men. However, in Test-match rugby, it can be the small moments that create the big ones.

Three little errors but with major impacts cost England the match. The first was the line-out before Scotland’s try. The visitors were penalised for encroaching the gap. Previously warned, they continued to do it. From the resulting free-kick, Scotland opted for the scrum.

Up steps Finn Russell and two cross-field kicks later England are down a man and the scores are tied. Questions were raised as to why Cowan-Dickie was alone on the edge from scrum defence. Most teams would leave a back row — with the other blindside winger becoming 15 in the back-three pendulum but going out to the edge once the 15 is no longer engaged in defensive duties.

The Russell kicks negated this. With no back-row cover and no time for England’s blindside wing to recover, Cowan-Dickie was left alone and vulnerable. Was this pre-planned? You would have to think so.

Cross-field kick to cross-field kick is rare, and the fact Darcy Graham was out there waiting means pre-match analysis played its part. However, the skill set from fly-half Russell in the heat of the moment showed real class and it left Cowan-Dickie and England flapping.

The second error, a more collective one, was the decision not to bring on a hooker. Joe Marler is more than capable of making the throw