• England lead 31-0 in first half and crumble in the second
The championship may have been decided but the drama had scarcely begun. Scotland, looking utterly bereft at Twickenham once again, resurrected themselves from a 31-0 deficit after half an hour to come within a few minutes of a first victory against England here since 1983. Only a try and subsequent conversion at the very end, both scored by George Ford, salvaged England from suffering the indignity of 36 years.
England finish in second place, the top try scorers with 24, an attacking bonus point in four out of five of their games, but this second-half collapse was a horror show. However slick their attacking game now, as showcased in South Africa last summer, when they had similar problems maintaining electric starts, this tendency to go missing is the biggest problem for Eddie Jones to address. Wales had exploited it in Cardiff in round three, England imploding into a rudderless kicking game, which resurfaced here after a display in the opening half-hour as glorious as any they have produced this year. Which is saying something.
Written by Michael Aylwin at Twickenham
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/16/england-scotland-six-nations-match-report under the title “England salvage Six Nations draw after Scotland’s spectacular comeback”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
