We found a way to win arm-wrestle, says England coach Borthwick

LONDON : England coach Steve Borthwick has spent much of the last year taking positives from close defeats so he was not in the mood to apologise for his side's stuttering display in their 16-15 Six Nations victory over Scotland on Saturday.

If Finn Russell had not missed his third conversion attempt in the final minute then England's recovery would have stalled badly after they ended a run of seven defeats against Tier One nations with another last-minute win over France two weeks ago.

They were also hugely fortunate to reach halftime only 10-7 down and though they could not add to Tommy Freeman's early try, penalties by Marcus and Fin Smith nudged them into a six-point lead, which proved just enough after Russell's late miss meant an end to the Scots' four-game winning run in the oldest international fixture in the sport.

"I'm delighted in the last two games the endings have gone our way," Borthwick said. "In many ways it wasn’t pretty and there are things we want to do better but, ultimately, we kept our composure and found a way to win the game."

England's defence was run ragged in the first half as Duhan van der Merwe again proved an irresistible force on the wing.

England improved in the second half, put up some hugely impressive defensive efforts and edged their way ahead with their own thrusts.

"We were very good in attack against France but today Scotland brought a very smart tactical plan and had ascendancy in the first half," Borthwick said.

"In the second half the players figured it out and found a way to get ahead on the scoreboard.

"It was very difficult to play against and a very different type of game, which is great for this young side. The guys found a way to win a tactical arm-wrestle.

"We don’t necessarily