England 61-21 Scotland
All of the build up was about how improved Scotland were, how England had not been at their best, and that there was a chance that the Scots could cause an upset. That in itself should tell you everything you need to know. This is an England side that had won 17 straight matches going into this game, and were on the brink of winning back to back Six Nations. The media was desperately trying to find evidence that this might be an interesting game, or even a close game.
This match of rugby was many things, but it was nothing close to a contest. This was what England fans had been waiting for for a month or so, for their team to finally click, find that extra gear and play somewhere near their best. And the results were absolutely explosive, as England won the tournament in absolutely phenomenal style, putting seven tries past a beleaguered Scotland side.
It became clear early on that Scotland were out of their depth, and even more clear that they had let the occasion get to them. This was a great opportunity for Scotland to turn over England at Twickenham, having already seen off Wales and Ireland, and if they had succeeded, they would have been in prime position to steal the Six Nations from under their greatest rival's noses, what would have been their first win since the tournament's inception in the year 2000.
But Scotland imploded right from the off, picking up a yellow card inside two minutes for a shocking late tip tackle, that would have been a card even if poor Elliot Daly hadn't been dropped on his neck which in this day and age is a red card offence. Within ten minutes, Scotland were 10 points down and the rot didn't seem to ever stop.
And England just kept coming like a freight train, 20-0 up inside 25 minutes, had 30 points by half time and didn't even bother to slow down in the second half, adding four tries in the second set of 40. At the heart of it all was the phenomenal Jonathan Joseph, who scored three tries himself with bulldozing carries and also set up Anthony Watson to score. Whilst there were a lot of exceptional performances from England players in this match, Joseph was the catalyst for the comprehensive victory, as he put the game out of reach of the Scots, allowing England the freedom to play.
And although Scotland kept striking back, scoring three tries themselves, they never got near England, who had them at arm's length for almost the entire match. Scotland pulled one back to make it, 20-7 and that became 40-7. Scotland got another one back to make it 40-14, England steamed on to make it 47-14. Even with Scotland getting the gap back within 30 at 47-21, England went on again, two late tries from Danny Care just rubbing salt in Scotland's wounds.
We've seen in this Championship how England are a team of winners: a team who have been able to grind out results and step their game up when they've needed to. And in this game, we saw the full attacking potential of this side unleashed on a hapless Scottish defence. If there were any nerves in the England camp about winning back to back tournaments or equalling New Zealand's record, they were dispelled almost instantly, and England never looked back.
Next week, England have a chance to complete a feat that not even the 2003 World Cup winning side could do, and be the first team to win back to back Grand Slams, breaking New Zealand's 18 game winning run along the way. Whilst England are yet to demonstrate that they're in the same league as the All Blacks, or indeed the 2003 side that managed to win the World Cup, 18 months on from a dismal World Cup performance, this England side are light years ahead of where they were when Eddie Jones took over, and next week in Dublin could be the perfect pay off to 18 months' worth of hard work.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Speaking of one-sided matches, Spurs put Millwall to the sword.
- Liverpool reignited their top four bid: beating Burnley 2-1.
- Chelsea v strikerless United tonight. Could be another massacre.
- Racing 92 and Stade Francais announce merger plans. Wow.
- Derby to appoint Rowett. McClaren sacked again.
- Durban not hosting 2022 Commonwealth Games. Liverpool?
- And finally, shock Murray defeat at Indian Wells. Disappointing.
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