Fantastic Finn Leads Scotland to Victory

Scotland 31 - 20 England

It was a Finn Russell masterclass at the Scottish Gas Murrayfield as Scotland picked up their first win of this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations in a dominant performance against a lacklustre England.

The Bath fly-half opened the scoring early on, slotting a penalty after just three minutes. Russell’s club teammate but opponent for the day Henry Arundell, was sent to the sin bin a few minutes later, and Scotland quickly took advantage—much like England had done the previous week when they capitalised on the Welsh yellow cards.

Huw Jones benefited from an incredible flick-on from the palm of Russell, sending him through a gap to open the try-scoring. England were caught napping as Maro Itoje found himself as the last line of defense out wide—a second row defending the flank is a situation no coach wants to see.

England were caught narrow once more, again the gap left by the carded Arundell was exploited. This time, a superb pass by captain Sione Tuipulotu found Jamie Ritchie in plenty of space to go over in the corner for the hosts' second of the afternoon after just 13 minutes.

Once Arundell returned to the pitch, he had an instant impact. From just meters out, George Ford handed the ball off to the winger, who dotted down comfortably. It marked his fourth try of the tournament following his hat-trick against Wales at the Allianz Stadium last week.

George Ford then slotted a penalty to narrow the gap, but the momentum was short-lived. A kick over the top was met by the normally reliable Ellis Genge, but the prop spilled the ball mere meters from his own line. Scrum-half Ben White was there to capitalize, securing Scotland’s third try.

The first half ended for England much like it started: Arundell was shown a second yellow card for taking a man out in the air. Following a bunker review, it was upgraded to a 20-minute red card. While the winger could eventually be replaced, it was a day to forget for the 23-year-old.

Scotland returned to the sheds with a 24-10 lead, and it’s hard to argue they didn’t deserve to be even further ahead. England needed a drastic shift in the second half, while the visitors got the opening points via a Ford penalty to bring them within 11, they seemed to lack the clinical quality we had seen in their previous 12 match winning streak. 

The defining moment of the match came when England finally applied pressure, England's Ford attempted a drop goal, but he was too flat and unprepared; the attempt was easily charged down by Matt Fagerson. Fagerson made a short burst before offloading to Huw Jones, who went over for his second of the day, securing a try bonus point for Gregor Townsend’s men.

Ben Earl who was arguably England’s best player in an otherwise poor performance. He was rewarded with a late try to restore a smidge of pride for Steve Borthwick’s side.

Despite recent pressure on Townsend following the loss to Italy and rumours linking him to the Newcastle Red Bulls Head Coach job, he coached his side to perfection against England. This win, and the sheer level of performance, has surely bought him extra time. For Steve Borthwick, it was a regression to the early days of his tenure—things didn't click, and the handling errors from key players like Alex Mitchell were unacceptable at this level. 

Questions will be asked if Ford was the right choice at 10 for this match, England’s kicking game was too easy for the Scottish backs to handle and defend against and with Marcus Smith left out entirely, England missed a player who can "make things happen" in the way Russell does.

While Huw Jones was magnificent, Finn Russell was the orchestrator. England simply couldn't cope with the maverick fly-half. Interestingly, Scotland did not seem to miss the absent Duhan van der Merwe, the Scots playing as a cohesive unit, using multiple options as opposed to relying on a single strike runner.

Looking ahead, both sides find themselves at a critical crossroads in the tournament. Scotland will head to Cardiff with a newfound swagger, knowing that if they can replicate this clinical edge, a title charge is well within their grasp. For England, the autopsy of this defeat will be painful. Steve Borthwick faces a defining week at Pennyhill Park to fix a disjointed attack before the daunting arrival of Ireland. At Murrayfield, the night belonged to the hosts, but for the visitors, the questions over their identity and execution are only just beginning.