Russell miss allows England to escape with 16-15 win over Scotland

LONDON :Finn Russell missed a last-minute conversion that would have given Scotland a record fifth successive Calcutta Cup win on Saturday and instead England claimed a tense 16-15 Twickenham victory that keeps them in the hunt for the Six Nations title.

England looked safe with a six-point lead heading into the final minutes but Duhan van der Merwe scored against them yet again, only for Russell to miss his third conversion of the match and let the hosts off the hook.

Having edged France at the death two weeks ago it was another nail-biting finale for the Twickenham crowd who had endured a flat first-half performance as England trailed 10-7 but were lifted by their second-half fightback.

Ireland, who beat Wales 27-18 earlier on Saturday, top the standings with 14 points. England have 10 and France, who play Italy on Sunday, and Scotland, have six.

England host Italy next before visiting Wales on the final day and though they will almost certainly need France to do them a favour by winning in Dublin to open the door, they remain in the hunt for a first title since 2020.

They made hard work of it on Saturday, however, managing only one early try and earning boos at times from the home fans after repeatedly kicking away possession.

Scotland were on the board after four minutes when, after a poor clearance kick, Van der Merwe slipped through two tackles and slick passing sent scrumhalf Ben White over.

England hit back after a patient assault on the line opened the way for Tommy Freeman to blast over, with Marcus Smith converting for a 7-5 lead.

Coach Steve Borthwick’s plan to shoe-horn Marcus Smith in at fullback to take advantage of attacking talent was exposed again at the other end of the pitch when he was brushed aside by Van