SCOTLAND 20-17 ENGLAND
Scotland retained the Calcutta Cup for the first time since 1984 after rallying in the second half to stun Eddie Jones men. Our full Scotland and England ratings feature some heroes and villains.
Smith had put England 3-0 ahead and the Scots had Ali Price off for a Head Injury Assessment when Darcy Graham made a stunning clean break and teed up sub scrumhalf Ben White to score. Finn Russell converted but Smith tagged back three points before half-time.
The second half started with Russell and Smith trading penalties before England went ahead after a scrum under the shadow of the Scottish posts. While the Scots dug in for a big drive, England had a strike-play planned, and Smith came haring in to score a fine try.
Luke Cowan-Dickie and a costly decision
With 15 minutes to go, a cross-field kick had England in lots of trouble. Luke Cowan-Dickie blatantly batted it down, preventing what would have been a sure score. The result was a penalty try that levelled matters, a yellow card for Cowan-Dickie and prop Joe Marler throwing into lineouts.
The momentum was firmly behind the home side and Finn Russell held his nerve with a kick when England erred. Seven minutes to go and Scotland led 20-17. England had a late chance to get a score but had a lineout stolen. There was a knock on, four re-set scrums, and England spill and the last hope flew out the win.
Here’s how we rated both sets of players from the starting XVs.
ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS
Freddie Steward – 7
Max Malins – 7
Elliot Daly – 5
Henry Slade – 6
Joe Marchant – 5
Marcus Smith – 8
Ben Youngs – 7
Ellis Genge – 7
Luke Cowan-Dickie – 5
Kyle Sinckler – 7
Maro Itoje – 6
Nick Isiekwe – 5
Lewis Ludlam – 7
Tom Curry – 5
Sam Simmonds – 8
SCOTLAND PLAYER RATINGS
Stuart Hogg – 7
Darcy Graham – 8
Chris Harris – 6
Sam Johnson – 6
Duhan van der Merwe – 7
Finn Russell – 8
Ali Price – 7
Rory Sutherland – 7
George Turner – 7
Zander Fagerson – 8
Jonny Gray – 7.5
Grant Gilchrist – 7
Jamie Ritchie – 6
Hamish Watson – 7.5
Matt Fagerson – 8
REPLACEMENT RATING – Ben White gets a 7 for his try-scoring cameo.
