For the first time under Eddie Jones and indeed in the Six Nations era, England lost consecutive first matches of the calendar year as Scotland regained the Calcutta Cup south of the border.
You have to go way back to 1983 for the previous occasion on which the tartan team triumphed at Twickenham. Victory for visitors Scotland saw the Red Rose fail to score a try on their own turf was the first blank in almost two-and-a-half years.
Subsequent Rugby World Cup winners South Africa were the last side not to concede a five-point score at Twickenham in England’s opening Autumn International of 2018. There was plenty of cause for concern for national coach Eddie Jones.
While his post-match comments seemed a little dramatic, as the Tasmania-born boss of the Red Rose suggested “you never atone for a game like this”, there is obviously lots to work on. First and foremost, Jones needs better discipline from his side.
England conceded 15 penalties in the 6-11 defeat to Scotland, a very high count. As well as being on the wrong side of the referee, they also seemed to be lacking in ideas on how to respond to what unfolded before them on the Twickenham turf.
That is not taking anything away from Scotland, who played superbly with winger Duhan van der Merwe crossing for what proved a decisive try. Jones can be thankful at least that Six Nations whipping boys Italy are up next for his team.
It makes for the perfect game to get a response from the Red Rose players. Bookmakers reacted to the defeat by pushing England out to 4/1 in the Six Nations rugby union outright betting for a successful defence of the championship, and now make France clear favourites. England’s defeat of Italy a week later was only enough to push England back to 3/1. France remain odds-on after defeating Ireland 15-13 on Valentine’s Day.
Any loss piles pressure on a national coach. The stat of losing consecutive openers to the year this century is an unwanted one, but there is also the broader narrative to consider.
When Scotland last beat England at Twickenham in 1983…
– Michael Jackson was riding high in the charts with Billie Jean
– Tootsie was a worldwide box office sensation
– Gregor Townsend was 9 years old
– none of the Scotland team were born pic.twitter.com/rlcFLdhGP2
England have now only lost two matches since going down to the Springboks during the 2019 RugbyWorld Cup final out in Japan. A couple of defeats in their last ten Tests, and three in 18, puts the disappointment in some perspective.
Jones hasn’t beaten France under current coach Fabien Galthie in 80 minutes, with the Red Rose needing sudden-death extra time to land the Autumn Nations Cup final. Les Bleus went close to winning the Six Nations last year and now look to be in pole position to end their 11-year wait for the championship.
One notable tactical nuance Jones didn’t start the Scotland game with was the dual playmaker system that includes both George Ford and England captain Owen Farrell in the starting line-up. This has previously given the Red Rose a lot of joy.
Reverting to type is one possible solution as England and Jones look to bounce back from a damaging defeat. They don’t play at Twickenham again until France visits on 13 March, so that game could still shape where the Six Nations title ends up this year.
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