Scots’ coach ranks win over England among best

LONDON • Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said his side got a “monkey off our backs” after ending their 38-year wait for a win at Twickenham with an 11-6 victory over reigning champions England in the teams’ Six Nations opener last Saturday.

None of the current squad was born when Scotland triumphed 22-12 at Twickenham in 1983, with Townsend himself then only nine years old.

But all that history was put to one side in a rain-swept match where Scotland dominated the set piece, besting England at the scrum and line-out, while fly-half Finn Russell and skipper Stuart Hogg expertly directed play behind their pack.

Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe struck in the 30th minute to score the only try of the match, with both Russell and England captain Owen Farrell landing two penalties apiece in a match where the final scoreline did not reflect the visitors’ superiority.

“I came down here a number of times as a player and then as a coach and hadn’t come away with anything,” former Scotland fly-half Townsend said.

“So this result is definitely up there with the best results in our history, and certainly myself in my coaching career. Today, the players were outstanding in really tricky conditions.”

The match marked the 150th anniversary of rugby’s oldest international fixture.

Scotland have shown signs of progress since their group-stage exit at the 2019 World Cup in Japan – in October, they won in Wales for the first time in 18 years.

But for England, there were echoes of their 2019 World Cup final loss on Saturday as coach Eddie Jones and Farrell could not lift the team’s performance.

“We just seemed to be off the pace and I have to blame myself, we didn’t prepare the team well enough,” Jones said. “You never atone for a game like this. This stays with you for a long time.”

The one consolation for England is they are at home to perennial strugglers Italy, who were beaten 50-10 by France earlier in the day, on Saturday while the Scots host Wales on the same day.

• 1983

  The last time Scotland beat England at Twickenham, London before Saturday’s Six Nations win.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS