Stand-off Duncan Hodge shattered England's Grand Slam dreams as Scotland beat the inaugural Six Nations champions 19-13 at Murrayfield to lift the Calcutta Cup with their first win of the 2000 season.
Hodge scored a converted second-half try and four penalties to snatch victory from Clive Woodward's men, who had already secured the Championship after their closest challengers Ireland had lost to Wales.
England led 10-9 at the interval with number eight Lawrence Dallaglio scoring a try coverted by Jonny Wilkinson after 23 minutes but the visitors struggled to break out of their own half in the second period in which they only added three points through a Wilkinson penalty, his second of the match.
Defeat was a bitter blow for England who were denied the Grand Slam by Wales last season and who fell to Scotland at the final hurdle in 1990 when a late Tony Stanger try denied the overwhelming favourites. "It was a day for strong men and my players showed who they were," coach Ian McGeechan, who had also been in charge of the 1990 team, said.
"They had to play out of their skins and they did. They didn't let England settle and the English didn't let them to," he added.
Skipper Andy Nicol was overwhelmed by the spirit of the team which battled through against the odds to secure their first Championship win this campaign: "It's unbelievable, really. The effort everyone put in there was huge. A lot of hard work has gone in this season -- and to win this after 10 years was a bit special.
After the game, England coach Clive Woodward said: "It feels exactly like 1999 (when Wales beat England to end their Grand Slam hopes) -- I cannot say anymore than that."
The ferocity of Scotland clearly upset England from the start with Welsh referee Clayton Thomas desperately trying to control a contest which threatened to boil over at times. Although the home side's tackling was fierce skipper Nicol's ditribution was poor and kept England on the offensive.
Wilkinson failed with a 14th minute penalty chance after Scotland had gone over the top at a ruck, and within a minute Duncan Hodge had missed too, after Austin Healey was penalised for not releasing.
Scott Murray, Lawrence Dallaglio and Steve Brotherstone were all talked to after two more scraps broke out close to the England line and, after another Thomas lecture, Hodge stepped up to put the home side in front with a 20 metre penalty.
Nicol did well to smother a Catt chip which rolled into the post, but it came at the cost of a five-metre scrum as he was bundled over his own line. Dallaglio then broke from the scrum, sprinted round the blind side, shrugging off Nicol and outpacing the covering Scottish loose forwards. Wilkinson landed the conversion.
Scotland's resistance was beginning to weaken, and James McLaren's high tackle on Mike Tindall not only cost another three points from Wilkinson, but also the home side the services of their inside centre for 10 minutes as he visited the sin bin.
More indiscipline from Murray prevented the home side from exerting some welcome attacking pressure on England after Glenn Metcalfe had dragged Matt Perry into touch inside the visitors' half. But for all their errors, Scotland had succeeded in unsettling their opponents back-row and consequently their fluid style of play.
Hodge reduced the gap with his second penalty five minutes before the interval to give McLaren a welcome return after his brief interlude. But then Scottish full-back Chris Paterson fumbled a Wilkinson kick within a metre of his own line to set up another barrage of England attacks.
However, despite at least five close-range drives, the home defence held firm, won a penalty then broke swiftly downfield where Paterson was hauled into touch by Healey.
Aother England infringement saw Hodge pull the gap back to a single point with the last kick of the half. Conditions worsened during the interval, rain sweeping across the stadium, and there was no reprieve for England as Scotland established a territorial foothold.
A slippery ball and greasy surface made things hazardous for both teams, contributing towards narrowing the perceived gap in class, but as the clock ticked on, so England grew increasingly anxious.
Woodward replaced left wing Ben Cohen with exciting Bath youngster Iain Balshaw approaching the hour mark. Before he could make a contribution though, Scotland regained a lead they'd lost almost 40 minutes earlier. Hill was punished for killing the ball, and Hodge stepped up to put his side 12-10 in front as the horror vision of Wembley last April began featuring in every English mind.
Six minutes from time, Scotland again laid siege to England's try-line, and flanker Jason White magnificently got his hands on possession, giving Hodge a simple task of touching down.
Hodge then converted to give England a mountain to climb. Although Wilkinson gave them hope when he slotted a short-range 78th-minute penalty, Scotland held on for a famous victory.
The Teams:
England: 1 Jason Leonard, 2 Phil Greening, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Garath Archer, 5 Simon Shaw, 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson (c), 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Matt Perry
Reserves: Martin Corry, Joe Worsley, Iain Balshaw
Unused: Neil McCarthy, Andy Gomarsall, Alex King, Trevor Woodman
Scotland: 1 Tom Smith, 2 Steve Brotherstone, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Richard Metcalfe, 5 Scott Murray, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Jason White, 8 Martin Leslie, 9 Andy Nicol (c), 10 Duncan Hodge, 11 Glenn Metcalfe, 12 James McLaren, 13 Gregor Townsend, 14 Craig Moir, 15 Chris Paterson
Reserves: Gordon McIlwham, Stuart Reid
Unused: Gavin Scott, Alan Bulloch, Stuart Grimes, Bryan Redpath, Graham Shiel
Referee: Thomas c.
Points Scorers:
England
Tries: Dallaglio L.B.N. 1
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 1
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 2
Scotland
Tries: Hodge D.W. 1
Conv: Hodge D.W. 1
Pen K.: Hodge D.W. 4
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