New-look England edge Scotland

England made a winning start under new acting coach Stuart Lancaster as they began the defence of their Six Nations title with a 13-6 Calcutta Cup win away to Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

England’s first victory at Murrayfield since 2004 saw a side featuring three debutants and a new captain in Chris Robshaw score the only try of the match when recalled flyhalf Charlie Hodgson charged down rival stand-off Dan Parks’s attempted clearance kick early in the second half.

Owen Farrell, the 20-year-old Saracens centre, kicked the remainder of England’s points on his Test debut, with both of Scotland’s scores coming courtesy of two first half Parks penalties.

Scotland threatened from deep and had their chances but a side coached by former England flank and boss Andy Robinson were undone by a series of handling errors.

England, who in Lancaster were being coached by a former Scotland Under-21 international following the resignation of Martin Johnson, were looking to rebuild after a poor World Cup in New Zealand where they knocked Scotland out of the tournament with a 16-12 pool win in Auckland.

Farrell had the chance to give England a 12th minute lead when, after he’d run back a poorly directed punt from Australia-born Parks, Scotland conceded a penalty on the halfway line.

But although the Saracens centre’s kick had the distance it just went wide of the posts.

However, seven minutes later, Farrell – the son of England backs coach and former dual code international Andy – was on target.

Scotland though were level minutes later when, after a strong burst by flank Ross Rennie, Robshaw infringed and Parks kicked a simple penalty.

And in the 32nd minute Parks made it 6-3 after England wing Chris Ashton, harried by Scotland scrum-half Chris Cusiter, was penalised for not releasing in the tackle.

But within seconds of the start of the second half, England caught Scotland cold with a try from Hodgson, making his first Test start for four years.

Hodgson’s kick-off was fielded by impressive Scotland No.8 David Denton and he in turn fed Parks.

But Parks’ attempted clearance kick was charged down by Hodgson, playing in the absence of retired England great Jonny Wilkinson and the unfit Toby Flood for a try confirmed by Welsh replay official Nigel Whitehouse.

Farrell, who plays alongside Hodgson at Premiership champions Saracens, pulled the tricky conversion from out on the left between the posts and England were 10-6 in front.

Hodgson’s try was the first by either side in a Murrayfield Calcutta Cup clash since 2004.

Scotland lock Richie Gray burst into the 22 only for an ensuing knock-on to give England a scrum.

Robinson made a quadruple substitution heading into the final quarter with England still four points in front.

The changes revitalised Scotland and one of the replacements, Greig Laidlaw, chipped over the top of the England defence in the 63rd minute was involved in a race for the touchdown with visiting scrum-half Ben Youngs.

But Whitehouse, after several minutes’ study, denied Scotland a try to the audible disappointment of a capacity crowd.

With 10 minutes left, Farrell’s penalty from the halfway line fell just under the crossbar.

Farrell though was given an easier chance in the 74th minute and this time he made no mistake as England went seven points in front, leaving Scotland to score a converted try just to draw level – something that proved beyond the hosts.

Man of the match: In a game that had only a few true stand-out players, Scotland No.8 David Denton was easily the most impressive. He always made ground with the ball in hand and the young man looked a real athlete.

Moment of the match: The defining moment came inside the first minute of the second half – when Dan Parks’ clearance was charged down and Charlie Hodgson scored the only try of the match. In the end that was the only difference between the teams.

Villain of the match: He is such a great player, but Scotland flyhalf Dan Parks had a nightmare. Not only did he have his kicked charged down for what turned out to be England’s match-winning try, but he made a host of other errors – including some shocking out of hand kicking.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens: Parks 2

For England:
Try: Hodgson
Con: Farrell
Pens: Farrell 2

The teams:

Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14  Lee Jones, 13 Nick de Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford (captain), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Graeme Morrison.

England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland) 
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales) 
TMO: Tony Redmond (Ireland)

AFP and rugby365.com