Scotland can build momentum from famous victory over auld enemy

If a sign of a team’s progress is their ability to win close matches, Scotland are heading firmly in the right direction. This was hardly a conclusive statement of their Six Nations title credentials but it was not a bad start.

It was a second successive victory over England for the first time since 1984 – they went on to win their second grand slam that year – and a third in five meetings with England.

If there are plenty of hurdles in the way before such thoughts can be entertained this year, Scotland will head to Cardiff next Saturday with a huge spring in their step. This was far from a perfect performance as their coach, Gregor Townsend, will no doubt point out when the analysis begins in earnest. But after the victories in Llanelli, Twickenham and Paris in the past 16 months, and another tight squeeze against Australia in the autumn, the belief coursing through the tartan ranks is palpable. The encouraging thing is they can play much better than this, but victory was everything. Momentum is firmly with them.

Scotland enjoyed more possession and territory than any other side in the Six Nations last year. Here, though, they were living off scraps for the first hour. After 50 minutes they had spent seven seconds in England’s 22.

The home side had one real opportunity to score a try and they took it with alacrity. It started with a quick lineout routine and when Maro Itoje rushed up in defence, Stuart Hogg did brilliantly to skip around the England lock’s tackle and slip the charging Darcy Graham through a gap between Nick Isiekwe and Elliot Daly. The Edinburgh wing sized up the situation, stepped inside Joe Marchant and found the supporting Ben White on an inside support line.

What a moment for the 23-year-old London