Hogg leads Scots to win at Twickenham
By Duncan Bech
6/2/21
Scotland celebrated the 150th anniversary of the oldest rivalry in rugby by stunning England to claim their first victory at Twickenham since 1983.
The 38-year wait for success at the home of the reigning Guinness Six Nations champions finally came to an end as Stuart Hogg inspired the underdogs to a magnificent win.
Scotland lacked the points to reflect their dominance, Duhan Van Der Merwe's try as part of an 8-6 half-time lead an inadequate return given they had put England into a straitjacket.
Russell was at the heart of their brilliant display, keeping the home defence guessing with an array of kicks and passes, but there also were erratic moments, most notably a trip on Ben Youngs punished by a yellow card.
Lions coach Warren Gatland was watching from the stands and he saw a patchy performance from the mercurial Finn Russell at ten for Scotland, including a bizarre late drop goal attempt as the Scots ran down the clock.
Scotland's mastery of almost every department continued after the interval yet they struggled to make the impact on the scoreboard needed to kill off England, who were bitterly disappointing.
Almost a fifth of Eddie Jones' team had not played since France were edged in sudden death 62 days ago and while the inactivity of the Saracens contingent contributed to the lack of intensity, England had more pressing problems.
Conceding four penalties in the first five minutes alone, one of them resulting in three points for Russell, led to a dismal start and the indiscipline became a debilitating theme of the match.
Russell was beginning to weave his magic with his passing already making a difference and there was another swing towards Scotland when he was chopped down by a swinging arm from Billy Vunipola, who was sent to the sin bin.
Showing no ill effects, Russell lofted the ball into the left corner where the bounce just deceived Van Der Merwe, but soon after the wing's powerful run swept him to the line and he was able to touch down.
The first half hour had been dominated by Scotland, but England clawed their way back into contention with successive penalties by Farrell.
Russell saw a yellow card for his trip on Youngs, his spell in the sin bin spanning either half, but when he returned the Scots were pounding away at the home line and he slotted a penalty.
Hogg weaved his way into space and the difference in attacking ability between the rivals was stark as England struggled to fire a shot.
Two huge touchfinders from Hogg pinned the champions back as rain began to fall, but the Exeter Chiefs full-back was unable to land a long-range penalty that would have propelled his side eight points ahead.
It was not needed, however, as England could just not muster any meaningful response and Scotland's players celebrated noisily when the final whistle blew.
England: E Daly; A Watson (M Malins 76), H Slade, O Lawrence (G Ford 69), J May; O Farrell (capt), B Youngs (D Robson 56); E Genge (B Obano 72), J George (L Cowan-Dickie 56), W Stuart (H Williams 63); M Itoje, J Hill; M Wilson (C Lawes 53), B Curry, B Vunipola (B Earl 67).
Penalties - Farrell (2)
Yellow Card: Vunipola
Scotland: S Hogg; S Maitland (H Jones 72), C Harris, C Redpath, D Van Der Merwe; F Russell, A Price (S Steele 69); R Sutherland (O Kebble 64), G Turner (D Cherry 67), Z Fagerson (WP Nel 64); S Cummings, J Gray; J Ritchie (R Gray 66), H Watson, M Fagerson (G Graham 64). Replacements: (not used): J Van Der Walt.
Try - Van der Merwe; Penalties - Russell (2)
Yellow Card: Russell
Referee: A Brace (Ireland).