Scotland 9
England 15
EDDIE JONES’ ENGLAND got off to a winning start in the Six Nations as tries from George Kruis and Jack Nowell helped them to a 15-9 victory over Scotland.
The Calcutta Cup tie was far from free-flowing, but England showed impressive power and control up front to physically dominate the home side.
Scotland were frustrating to watch as they consistently coughed up possession upon entering the English half, and they largely failed to create try-scoring opportunities. Their best chance arguably came when Finn Russell intercepted a Danny Care pass inside his own 22 and had Stuart Hogg begging for a pass on his left.
Instead, the Scotland out-half hacked the ball directly into touch and a rare chance was lost.
This England win had a classic feel to it, as the likes of the outstanding Billy Vunipola, Kruis, Chris Robshaw and Dan Cole hammered into contact willingly. Jones will acknowledge the room for growth in next weekend’s visit to Italy, but this was a solid starting point.
Their second try was particularly encouraging, as George Ford, Mako Vunipola and Owen Farrell handled slickly to feed Nowell near the right corner in the second half. The Exeter Chiefs man finished superbly with a dart of acceleration past the final defender.
England’s first try came from a strong scrum platform five metres out in the first half, with Billy Vunipola carrying well from the base and then Kruis hammering through the tackle of Richie Gray on phase two.
Farrell added a conversion and one penalty to give England some scoreboard breathing room, but all the Scots could manage overall were three penalties from scrum-half Greig Laidlaw.
They will need to find more cutting edge away to Wales next weekend.
Scotland scorers:Penalties: Greig Laidlaw [3]
England scorers:
Tries: George Kruis, Jack Nowell
Conversions: Owen Farrell [1]
Penalties: Owen Farrell [1]
SCOTLAND: Stuart Hogg; Sean Maitland, Mark Bennett, Matt Scott, Tommy Seymour; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt.); Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford, WP Nel; Richie Gray, Jonny Gray; John Barclay, John Hardie, David Denton.
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Gordon Reid, Zander Fagerson, Tim Swinson, Blair Cowan, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Duncan Weir, Duncan Taylor.
ENGLAND: Mike Brown; Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, Jack Nowell; George Ford, Danny Care; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley (captain), Dan Cole; Joe Launchbury, George Kruis; Chris Robshaw, James Haskell, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Paul Hill, Courtney Lawes, Jack Clifford, Ben Youngs, Alex Goode, Ollie Devoto.
Referee: John Lacey.
