Hamish Watson was outstanding in Scotland’s win and the visitors must hope Sam Underhill can be that kind of playerAs a contrast to England’s repeated failure to find a successor at openside flanker to Neil Back one has only to look at how New Zealand coped with Richie McCaw’s retirement. McCaw called it a day after the 2015 World Cup with 148 caps but there, ready to take up the mantle, was Sam Cane with more than 30 himself.The thing with opensides such as that is there has to be a leader of the pack to encourage others to follow. For New Zealand it was McCaw, for Australia it is now Michael Hooper but England have not had one since...
Scotland, who stunned England in the Six Nations, included five players plus the coach, Gregor Townsend, shaped by a spell outside domestic comfort zonesMaybe it is just a coincidence but the following among Scotland’s weekend heroes all share something in common. What is it that links Finn Russell, John Barclay, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Huw Jones and Gregor Townsend, not to mention Ireland’s latest man-of-the-match centre Chris Farrell? Here is a clue: all the leading modern Test coaches have also done something similar, as did England’s World Cup-winning captain, Martin Johnson.The answer is thought-provoking: each has been fundamentally shaped by a spell outside his domestic comfort zone. The smart, forward-thinking Townsend could have remained a big fish in the Borders...
Scotland’s next task is to improve on the road, Wales show their worth with the ball and France still off the paceIt seems cruel that anyone in Scotland should have to talk about anything other than their victory, but in the hours after the match Gregor Townsend was already thinking about their next Test, away to Ireland. “We’ve got our own issues to deal with,” he said, “we have to show a truer picture of what we’re about when we’re away from home”. Scotland have been a poor side when they’re playing away for a long while now, but those two recent defeats, to England at Twickenham and Wales in Cardiff, were particularly bitter given how much better they’ve become...
Scots bared their teeth while their No 10 put on show of sublime skills and composure that silenced critics and left Eddie Jones’s team floundering“Super fly guy” read the headline in the local paper on Saturday morning and boy, did Finn Russell soar. We have heard plenty about his tendency to do so too close to the sun but here at Murrayfield he was simply sublime. He smiles too much, apparently – well, the last laugh is undoubtedly his.It is a first win for Scotland against England for a decade, their first tries at Murrayfield against their rivals for 14 years and, more significantly, it was achieved in a manner to rock global rugby to its core. Eddie Jones’s England...
Murrayfield’s fierce reception sets tone on a day when England were left bewildered by nimbler and more bloodthirsty hostsIt was a crisp, clear afternoon at Murrayfield, with just enough sun to fool you into thinking it was going to be a warm and pleasant day. It wasn’t, not for the English. The Scots’ hospitality turned with the weather and by the time the England team arrived, their welcome was anything but. You could feel the atmosphere grow tense as their bus, stuck behind the Fife Police Pipe Band, made the long, slow crawl through the gauntlet of Scottish fans at the back of the West Stand. They were hanging off the gantries there, waiting to let Eddie Jones know exactly...