TWICKENHAM — England fly-half Fin Smith came of age as he inspired a 16-15 win at Twickenham, their first home Six Nations victory over Scotland since 2017.
The 22-year-old, whose grandfather was a prop for Scotland, led a second-half shutout and kicked a long penalty which turned out to be the decisive score.
Three tries in the first quarter of the match – Ben White and Huw Jones for Scotland and Tommy Freeman for England – suggested it might be a shootout in the mould of the 38-38 draw here six years ago, but a second-half arm-wrestle broke out.
That was until Duhan van der Merwe scored in the corner with less than a minute left, only for Finn Russell to drag a tricky kick wide.
“Finn was a big part of us getting three tries. He has kicked a lot of very important points for us in the past,” said Scotland coach Gregor Townsend afterwards.
“The reality is we didn’t win and are likely now not going to win the championship. It’s a performance we can build on over the next two rounds.”
But in the other No 10 shirt, Fin with one “N” was 100 per cent from the kicking tee and is now 100 per cent in Test rugby as a starting fly-half.
“Every game is important for England and you have to give Scotland credit, as they played a real smart game,” England coach Steve Borthwick said.
“They put pressure on you and as soon as they get a chance they move the ball wide quickly.
“This young group stayed in the fight and they kept composure and they kept running hard. They eventually found a way to win.”
The oldest Test fixture in rugby union history, it has also become one of the most entertaining, never more so than the dramatic draw here six years ago, and once again it delivered with four lead changes and a live game up until the last second.
First scrum-half White, formerly a resident only a few miles away from Twickenham when he played for London Irish, ran a brilliant support line for Tom Jordan to give the visitors an early lead, his third Calcutta Cup try.
Winger Freeman quickly levelled the scores and Marcus Smith wasted no time converting, perhaps because he knew that Scotland had a case against the grounding of the ball, but referee Pierre Brousset appeared happy that the ball had touched down, even though replays did little to suggest so.
Once upon a time, that injustice and a roaring Twickenham crowd, who were praised again by Borthwick this week, might have diminished their effort, but they are unbeaten here since 2017 and it has bred a self-assuredness.
Van der Merwe, hat-trick hero at Murrayfield last year, has been a huge part of that and he was almost untouchable in the first half, producing offloads in the build-up to the first, and then the second try, finished in the corner by Jones, his Scottish record-equalling 16th Six Nations try. Townsend’s men came into the game having made more offloads than any other side in the Six Nations and showed no sign of abandoning that free-flowing style.
But for all Van der Merwe’s brilliance, England were giving him opportunities: scrum-half Alex Mitchell was being out-kicked by White, and Smiths Fin and Marcus were wayward with the boot, all variously guilty of kicking too far and allowing Scotland to manipulate counter-attacking opportunities for their supremely talented back three.
“Naive,” former Scotland captain Chris Paterson called it, while also bemoaning that Scotland were not further ahead. They had dominated possession and territory, making nearly three times the number of passes England had, but only gained a three-point lead. It felt like a missed opportunity.
England meanwhile had promised an added “nastiness”, and you might have expected to see it in the first five minutes of the second half. Borthwick did not, and he acted decisively, deploying 170 caps of experience in Jamie George and match-winner against France Elliot Daly, while Chandler Cuningham-South followed them a few minutes later due to an injury to Tom Curry.
The gameplan did not change much though, and boos rang out around Twickenham when Mitchell stepped back to box-kick again. They were watching Scotland play free-flowing rugby and wanted their men to do the same.
The turning point seemed, fittingly, to come from Fin Smith, whose 51st-minute tackle on Jordan in England’s 22 earned them a penalty after a fierce defensive set. His team-mates learned by his example.
Brousset’s whistle was becoming prominent, more often in England’s favour than Scotland’s, affording Marcus Smith the chance to score his side’s first point since the ninth minute, to make it 10-10 with 24 minutes to go. He added another 10 minutes later but when Ben Curry was tip-tackled on the halfway line, the full-back deemed the posts out of range.
Up stepped Fin Smith, whose firm strike never looked in doubt, but England’s physical superiority was such that it felt like a luxury of a six-point lead.
It turned out to be decisive, as Van der Merwe went over in the corner for his 31st international try to bring Scotland within a point and seal the Player of the Match Award. But that achievement would have meant so much more if Russell, who had failed to convert both left-corner tries in the first half, had not dragged his third kick of the day wide.
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