- Scotland beat England 25-13 at Murrayfield in the Six Nations on Saturday
- Huw Jones scored twice and Sean Maitland added another to seal victory
- The first half was one of the most one-sided in the history of the rivalry
What a performance that was by Scotland!
The first half might be the best 40 minutes ever produced by a Scotland team at Murrayfield. It was stunning.
It had everything: physicality, flair, ambition and execution.
Scotland celebrate after lifting the Calcutta cup at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon
Scotland fans celebrate after Sean Maitland’s try sealed the victory in Edinburgh
I don’t think that I have ever seen a Scotland team dominate an England side as much as in that first half on Saturday – and in every facet.
Sometimes, the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole true story, but 22-6 at half-time was a fair reflection of the dominance that Scotland had. It was dreamland stuff.
Scotland had started poorly in the first two games of this Six Nations campaign and simply needed a strong start, which they got in spades.
There was a real bite to every part of their game and the shape and pace of their attack really posed all sorts of problems to the English defence.
Scotland’s second try summed up everything you need to know about Finn Russell. After two poor games, you might have thought he would play this match conservatively to find his game. Not Russell. His looping miss-pass to Huw Jones in his own 22 had the whole stadium holding its breath as it looked like it might have been intercepted but it was inch-perfect and off went Jones for a try.
Stuart Hogg of Scotland pumps his fist after his team’s huge victory at Murrayfield
A number of phases later, Russell throws another looping miss-pass to Sean Maitland and Scotland had their second try. Classic Russell.
Murrayfield was rocking by this stage but the place got even louder when Jones produced a try out of the very top drawer, which highlighted his pace and power. Another stunning moment.
It was inevitable that England were going to come back at Scotland in the second half and they did. But Scotland’s defence was immense, which restricted the score to only 7-3 England in the second half.
The Scottish pack were outstanding in everything they did but totally dominated the breakdown, which stopped England gaining any sort of momentum in the second half.
So, Scotland combined brilliant attack in the first half with outstanding defence in the second, which will have pleased Gregor Townsend so much.
One of the best Murrayfield days I have ever experienced.