Scotland cling on to beat England and retain Calcutta Cup in tense Six Nations battle

A Six Nations smash and grab, settled as Scotland found their heads just as England were losing theirs. Marcus Smith’s 17 points looked to have put this young and inexperienced England side on the verge of victory, only to see his side fall apart after his Six Nations debut was brought to a close.

This meeting of rugby’s oldest rivals was billed as a clash between Smith and Finn Russell, two of the game’s most exciting No 10s, and in a way it was, just not when both fly-halves shared the stage. Smith looked to have steered England into calmer waters with an assured and commanding performance, his breakthrough try the moment where England finally landed a blow after what seemed to be relentless pressure.

What changed in England after Smith’s withdrawal was exacerbated by Luke Cowan Dickie’s yellow card and resulting penalty try, the game-changing moment to put Scotland within touching distance of a second consecutive victory in this fixture. Russell held his nerve to kick the winning points and as a final England foray saw the visitors come away empty handed yet again, their fate was sealed.

It was the story of the match and in some ways, a reverse of Scotland’s historic win at Twickenham last year. That was an occasion where Scotland controlled the game through their possession but saw little return on the scoreboard. This time around, they controlled England through their defence for the most part, while making the most out of their rare attacking opportunities.

The belief that swelled and rose within Murrayfield in the closing moments could also be the sounding drum of a genuine Six Nations bid. Come through a trip to a Wales side in need of a response following their earlier thrashing to Ireland and those hushed