England 22 - 16 Scotland
A below par performance from England saw them beat a resilient Scotland 22-16 at Twickenham which kept their grand slam chances alive going into the final round of fixtures next week.
The only change to the England team that beat France last time out was Andrew Sheridan being withdrawn through injury which saw Alex Corbisiero once again take his place In the England front row as he did against Italy. London Irish prop, Paul Doran- Jones took his place on the bench alongside Tom Croft who replaced Hendrie Fourie who was released from the squad earlier in the week.
Scotland coach, Andy Robinson made four changes from the team that narrowly lost out to Ireland as he brought in Simon Danielli for his first appearance of the tournament at winger, Joe Ansbro returned to centre, Nathan Hines came in at blindside hooker whilst Rory Lawson was preferred at scrum half. Kelly Brown started at number 8.
First Half
Scotland made a flying start to the game as they put the home side under pressure in their own 22 and they were rewarded for their efforts with a penalty which was kicked over by Chris Paterson to put the visitors ahead early on. England 0- 3 Scotland. The England pack was slightly heavier than Scotland's and they managed to use this to their advantage as Allan Jacobsen proved to be the weak link in the Scotland scrum as he conceded a number of penalties throughout the game. His mistake gifted England a way back into the game in the 10th minute however Toby Flood's kick just went wide of the posts as the visitors maintained their slender lead. The missed penalty proved a wakeup call for England as they slowly started to feel their way back into the game and forced Scotland into surrendering a penalty which was converted by Flood to bring the game all square on 15 minutes. England 3- 3 Scotland.
As the game reached half way, Scotland started to mount numerous attacks on a shaky England defence which was managing to hold them at bay just but again sloppy discipline in the ruck gave Scotland another penalty which was put over by Paterson to restore the visitors lead. England 3- 6 Scotland. Scotland's possession was rewarding them with points and mistakes from the home side were only adding to their downfall however, England again responded to this by converting two penalties of their own with one of them down to the inconsistency of Jacobsen in the scrums putting the home side infront for the first time in the game. England 9- 6 Scotland. England started to take control of the game but consistent dropping of the ball was blunting their attacks and the visitors used this to their benefit as the game became end to end rugby which would have kept a neutral very interested. With seconds to play of the half and Scotland inside the home sides 22, they worked themselves into a kicking position which they took full advantage of as fly half Ruaridh Jackson attempted a drop goal which just carried over the posts to bring the scores level at the break. England 9- 9 Scotland. Would this late score from Scotland prove influential in their attempts to win the game?
Second Half
England captain Mike Tindall looked to be limping at the end of the first half and he was replaced by Matt Banahan who made an immediate impact when he ran into Scotland Kelly Brown pole-axing him in the process which meant lengthy treatment for the number 8 who was eventually stretchered off and replaced by Richie Vernon. Although England looked shaky at the back, they still posed a serious threat going forward and it was only good defending from the visitors which held them at bay. Continuous mistakes also stopped the home side from going over. England dominance in possession failed to be converted into points as the game became end to end once again but ill discipline from Scotland's John Barclay in the 56th minute put him in the sin bin giving England a big opportunity.
Straight away England used their extra man to force Scotland into an error which gave the home side a penalty which was converted by Flood. England 12- 9 Scotland. Even with England's advantage in numbers it was vital for them not to get complacent as Scotland still had the consistent kicking of Paterson in the ranks. In a strange occurrence to the game, during play referee Romain Poite abruptly pulled up complaining about pain in his left leg which forced him off. The introduction of Dan Parks at fly half almost had an instant effect on the game however his drop goal attempt was sliced wide and even with Scotland a man down, they still managed to pressure the home side with numerous attacks. Martin Johnson then rang in the changes by revitalising the pack with Simon Shaw, Steve Thompson and Tom Croft all coming on and Jonny Wilkinson replacing Flood at fly half with these changes having a desired effect on the game straight away as full back Ben Foden found space and drove his way to the line only to be denied by a try saving tackle from Chris Paterson. However, minute's later good passing play opened up a gap and sub Tom Croft powered his way over to put England in a commanding position with 10 minutes to go. Wilkinson also converted giving Scotland a mountain to climb. England 19- 9 Scotland.
England maintained their attacking presence by once again putting the Scotland defence under the cosh however smart play from Scotland winger Max Evan's saw him kick up and over the England line to then run onto it and ground to bring the visitors back into the contest. Paterson's good kicking continued as he put the conversion over to decrease the gap to 3 points. England 19- 16 Scotland. With five minutes to play the game became very nervy as a slip up from either side could hurt their chances of winning the game. In the 78th minute, Wilkinson made the game safe for England by kicking over a penalty to out the game beyond reach of Scotland. England 22- 16 Scotland. England saw out the last few moments to win the game and not only keep their grand slam and Triple Crown chances alive but to win the Calcutta Cup in front of the 82,120 strong Twickenham crowd.
Full Time
A hard fought win for England as they didn't play to the same level which saw them dispose of France however consistently good scrums and line outs kept them on top. A spirited effort from Scotland who gave a good account of themselves but poor scrums and inconsistent line outs only added to what Robinson has to do to improve their team ahead of next week.
Man of the Match
James Haskell: He was one of the few England players to shine and his good work in the scrums helped England massively.
England:
Tries: Croft
Conversion: Wilkinson
Penalties: Flood (4), Wilkinson
Scotland:
Tries: Evans
Conversion: Paterson
Penalties: Paterson (2)
Drop Goals: Jackson
Thoughts
England's inability to dispose of the bottom team will be a concern for Martin Johnson going into next week's grand slam decider against Ireland as they will look to build on what has been a very successful campaign so far. England's line out has been their biggest weapon in the tournament so far as they have used this to great effect when mounting attacks. With a tougher test next week, Johnson's men will need to up their game if they are going to beat the Irish in their backyard and hopefully win the Triple Crown and their first grand slam in 8 years.
Scotland put up a resilient effort in all areas but they failed to hold out against a resurgent England. They have been improving over the last few games but their attacks lacked creativity as they continue to struggle when it comes to scoring tries. Ill discipline in the scrums and inconsistency line outs call for vast improvement going into next week's crunch tie against Italy A fourth defeat for Andy Robinson puts him under mounting after Italy's emphatic triumph over France making next week's game a must win to avoid the wooden spoon.
