Scotland 15-9 England: Written off Scotland step up to mark at last

WRITTEN off after three demoralising defeats and with confidence levels decidedly shaky, Scotland rose from the gloom to produce a display brimming with passion, courage and intelligence to secure the Calcutta Cup for a second time in three years.

Some will point to the horrendous rain and gusty winds as being the reason Scotland outsmarted their English visitors in the RBS Six Nations Championship once again, and others might remember only the high kicks and defensive effort. But even though there were no line-breaks, far less Scottish tries, this winning performance was about much more than that.

This was the day when the lessons of the defeats over the past two years, and the recent Rugby World Cup, were acted upon by players; when a blend of youth and experience finally resulted in a solid performance and when a level of maturity and team work that many had feared was lost was uncovered.

One moment, in particular, defined this game. Jonny Wilkinson lining up a penalty is a sight that has induced dread in opposition fans for the past decade, but on Saturday it pinpointed instead the fragility of England's performance.

When Wilkinson and Phil Vickery, England's powerful and experienced tighthead prop and captain, discussed a penalty award a few metres into Scotland's half just three minutes before the interval their decision to kick proved pivotal.

One expected Vickery to ask Wilkinson to launch the ball and provide a platform for the forwards to then drive Scotland over the try-line. But Wilkinson clearly did not fancy his chances from more than 50 metres out as the wind and rain swirled around Murrayfield and the message was clear: the English pack did not fancy taking on Scotland's forwards at a five-metre driving lineout. Crucially, Wilkinson fell short with his effort.

This was the point where Scotland found a psychological edge, and though the game was within a converted score right until the final whistle the deficit could have been greater because England neither had the belief nor the energy to break down Scotland.

This was no accident. For all that the visitors looked a bedraggled bunch by the finish and were guilty of a woeful lack of imagination and creativity, the quality of the Scottish play and decision-making in key areas had laid the foundations for the outcome. Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, had said in The Scotsman on the morning of the match that he was pinning much on Scotland building confidence in the first 20 minutes in this game. In truth, much of the first quarter was scrappy, but Scotland set the tone.

The forwards took on the heavier England pack aggressively to win a good share of ball and, with the experienced combination of Simon Taylor, Mike Blair and Chris Paterson orchestrating the attacks, Scotland ran England all over Murrayfield with different modes of attack: high balls, long kicks, box-kicks, off-the-top lineouts, wide, running attacks, and tight, battering pick-and-drives.

The hosts coped with squint English lineout throws, a few errors of their own and a huge tactical switch in only the 20th minute, when Rory Lamont collided with Ian Balshaw. The right wing should have kicked the ball into touch, as there was little he could do with the ball in hand a metre from the touchline in the face of advancing Englishmen and no support, but he bravely tried to gather and retain possession and was caught by the left knee of Balshaw, who had slid in to challenge. After a lengthy delay while Lamont was treated and stretchered off, Scotland brought on Dan Parks at stand-off and moved Chris Paterson to the wing.

England resumed with a penalty because Scotland flanker Allister Hogg had taken out an England player with an off-the-ball tackle in the Lamont aftermath. England kicked to touch and drove at the Scottish line, but were repelled until securing another penalty. They kicked to touch again and drove, but the Scots drove back at them in the tackle. Eventually, England were forced into errors and Nathan Hines hauled Richard Wigglesworth into touch.

The English pack then had three scrums inside the Scottish 22, during which the hosts lost hooker Ross Ford to an ankle injury and were forced to press 24-year-old Fergus Thomson into the fray after just five fleeting appearances from the bench. The home side emerged from this phase of play with a penalty conceded for a scrum binding offence, which Jonny Wilkinson converted to level the scores and overtake Neil Jenkins' world record of 1090 points.

However, the Scottish forwards knew who had won that little battle, and so did their England counterparts. Paterson slotted another three points from Scotland's next attack, Wilkinson missed the long-range effort he had debated with Vickery, and the Scots hit the mark again just before the half-time whistle, though luck was with Paterson as he hit it flat and it still sailed straight between the uprights.

The hosts went into the break 9-3 ahead and with the wind in their sails.

Straight from the second-half restart, Andrew Sheridan handed Scotland the initiative with a penalty at the first ruck in front of his own posts. Paterson nailed the penalty, and when Parks struck a fine 50-metre effort eight minutes later, there was a feeling that Scotland might again defy the odds.

Wilkinson kept a lid on early celebrations with two swift penalties in reply, both from Scottish errors, but the fly-half then faded. The introduction of Jason White for Scott MacLeod after an hour lifted both the Scottish crowd and Paul Sackey, the England winger – who White drove back several yards and dumped. Scotland pushed play into England's half for the final quarter and were more comfortable than the score suggested. The sight of England's leaders Vickery and Wilkinson being replaced underlined the visitors' misery.

This was far from an error-free Scotland display. Hadden's side were beaten in the lineout, conceded more free-kicks, spent less time in possession in both halves, had fewer line-breaks and messed up overlaps. But their defence was tighter than of late, they played with composure, concentration and as a team, and made good decisions.

Scotland: H Southwell; R Lamont, S Webster, G Morrison, N Walker; C Paterson, M Blair; A Jacobsen, R Ford, E Murray, N Hines, S MacLeod, A Strokosch, S Taylor, A Hogg. Subs: D Parks for Lamont (21), R Lawson for Blair (76), A Dickinson for Jacobsen (64), F Thomson for Ford (25), C Smith for Murray (68), J White for MacLeod (63), K Brown for Hogg (72).

England: I Balshaw; P Sackey, J Noon, T Flood, L Vainikolo; J Wilkinson, R Wigglesworth; A Sheridan, L Mears, P Vickery, S Shaw, S Borthwick, T Croft, N Easter, M Lipman. Subs: M Tait for Flood (66), C Hodgson for Wilkinson (70), G Chuter for Mears (67), M Stevens for Vickery (70), B Kay for Shaw (66), L Narraway for Lipman (73).