Jones stars as Scotland stun England to end winning streak

MATCH REPORT: Huw Jones’ brace helped Scotland stun England and end their 12-game winning streak with a comprehensive 31-20 Six Nations victory at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday.

The Scots proved once again that they are England’s kryptonite in the Calcutta Cup with a fifth victory in their last six meetings.

England went into this clash as heavy favourites, given their recent run of form and Scotland losing to Italy in Round One.

England’s ill-discipline was their downfall, which is something Steve Borthwick will put on the agenda to be addressed when they go back to the drawing board.

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Scotland were quickly out of the blocks, putting England under pressure early, leading them to concede a penalty in front of the sticks.

Finn Russell slotted the kick in the fourth minute to get Scotland on the scoreboard.

The intensity continued from the hosts, leading to last week’s hat-trick hero, Henry Arundell, receiving a yellow card for making a tackle in an offside position after a Scotland line break.

Scotland’s patience on attack paid off when they exploited the space out wide, and Huw Jones ran in the opening try in the 10th minute. Russell added the extras.

England’s ill-discipline continued to haunt them, gifting Scotland free territory and possession, which they used to good effect to score their second try within the opening 15 minutes through Jamie Richie which Russel converted.

England hit back for their first score through Arundell in the 21st minute, who returned moments before from the sinbin. Ford slotted the conversion.

Ford slotted a penalty in the 25th minute after Scotland were caught offside to close the gap on the scoreboard to seven points.

In an almost comical situation, Russell, who appeared to be indecisive, kicked the ball ahead with the bounce eluding Ellis Genge, leading to Ben White scooping it up and scoring Scotland’s third try with Russel putting the cherry on top.

More trouble came England’s way when Arundell, who already served time in the sinbin, played Kyle Steyn in the air after an aerial contest.

After a TMO consultation, the England winger received a 20-minute red card in the 37th minute, the first-ever in a Calcutta Cup clash.

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England scored first in the second stanza through a Ford penalty following a scrum penalty.

Ford attempted a drop goal, which turned into a disaster.

His kick got charged down by Matt Fagerson, who got his pass away to Jones, who ran in for his brace and Scotland’s bonus point in the 53rd minute, which Russell converted.

Ben Earl struck back for England’s second try in the 77th minute, which Ford converted, but it was too much of a tough ask for Borthwick’s men to create a miracle comeback.

Scotland had one final crack at England’s line before Russell decided it was enough and kicked it into touch for a famous win.

Player of the match: Jamie Dobie was immense, but Huw Jones’ brace, two linebreaks and turnover won gets him the nod. He also made a crucial play to hold Ben Earl up over the line late in the game.

Scorers

For Scotland:
Tries: Jones 2, Richie, White
Cons: Russell 4
Pen: Russell

For England:
Tries: Arundell, Earl
Cons: Ford 2
Pens: Ford 2

Yellow card: Henry Arundell (England, 8′ – Cynical foul: making a tackle in an offside position after a linebreak)
Red card (20-minute): Henry Arundell (England, 37′ – Dangerous play: playing a player in the air)

Teams

Scotland: 15 Tom Jordan, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Nathan McBeth.
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Darcy Graham.

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Fin Smith

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen South Africa)