- Scotland 20-17 England
- Finn Russell penalty settles tense Six Nations opener
The Six Nations is rarely short of dramatic finishes and, from Scotland’s perspective, this latest one will rank right up there. For the first time in 38 years the Scots have registered back-to-back championship wins over the auld enemy and the tense, nerve-tingling manner of this narrow triumph made it all the sweeter for the hosts on a damp, cold Edinburgh evening.
As a contest it was often a slow burner but the big final quarter plot twist will haunt England for a while. Finn Russell’s second penalty with eight minutes left technically applied the killer blow but ultimately it was the desperate flapping hands of Luke Cowan-Dickie that did for the visitors. Referee Ben O’Keeffe correctly ruled the England hooker, in trying to stop a Russell cross-kick from reaching the lurking Darcy Graham in the right corner, deliberately knocked the ball out of play and the resultant penalty try and yellow card tipped the balance of the entire game.
