Duhan van der Merwe double helps Scotland beat England

A try double from Duhan van der Merwe helped Scotland to a 29-23 win over England as they kicked off their Six Nations in style at Twickenham.

This was the Scots’ third successive victory over the Auld Enemy as they stunned their hosts, with Van der Merwe’s 74th-minute score sealing the victory.

Scotland‘s other try scorers on the day were Huw Jones and Ben White, with Finn Russell kicking nine points off the tee in a pulsating game throughout.

For England their new chapter under head coach Steve Borthwick did provide plenty of positives as Max Malins (2), and Ellis Genge crossed the try-line.

England were booed from the pitch after a limp defeat by South Africa in their last appearance, the climax to a dire 2022 that resulted in Eddie Jones being sacked, but this seven-try Six Nations thriller was very different.

They had won only one of the last five Calcutta Cup matches, and the early omens signposted that run continuing when Scotland centre Jones touched down Sione Tuipulotu’s grubber in the 15th minute.

Earlier in the move, Jones had raced through a wide gap in the midfield defence as Scotland struck off their first attack of the game having been on the ropes for the opening exchanges.

Apart from the all-too-familiar penalty count, there had been much to admire about England’s start, and in the 23rd minute, they were over, pouncing on the 15th phase of a sustained assault in the 22 when Malins produced a fine finish of Marcus Smith’s cross-field kick.

The brittle home defence was exposed once again as Van der Merwe, taking a pass from Kyle Steyn, left a host of white shirts in his wake as he weaved a path to the whitewash.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Ben White showing how lethal he is. 20-19 right now. #ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/oYGLYjV5Zq

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 4, 2023

It was a classy individual score, but England showed their own flair to engineer a second for Malins as patient build-up and smart handling created a simple run-in on the right wing.

An Owen Farrell penalty gave the hosts a one-point interval lead, and they were over for a third time through Genge in the 48th minute after a succession of dynamic carries by their pack.

Scotland’s visits to the home 22 were rare, but they showed a ruthless streak when they arrived, with White taking advantage of an absent ruck defence to plunder a sharp try.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 SCOTLAND WIN AGAIN AT TWICKENHAM! #ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/sxQVCBqBzV

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 4, 2023

Veteran prop Dan Cole came on for his first cap since the 2019 World Cup final and forced a penalty at the scrum in his first involvement of the match, giving England the platform to renew their attack.

Farrell landed his second penalty, and Russell replied in kind as a nailbiting conclusion approached.

Scotland kept pressing, and the breakthrough arrived with six minutes left as Van der Merwe showed his strength to bulldoze over in the left corner and keep the Calcutta Cup in Edinburgh.