‘Missed opportunities haunt Scotland on rough day’

Finn Russell sat for a time on the Twickenham turf, alone in his thoughts, a microcosm of Scotland’s misery.

In a one-point game, three kicks and three misses occur. That’s a lot to carry, especially when Fin Smith, the young pretender at the other end, hit one over from close range from almost 50 yards to give England a six-point lead.

Russell has witnessed numerous Scottish victories and experienced numerous Scottish heartaches. Given that it was accompanied by the gloomy reality of another Six Nations championship, which was essentially over in round three, it had to be one of the most gruesome.

This story is incredibly familiar, and for Gregor Townsend and his players, it had a grisly feeling. They’re good, but not good enough. There’s a nuance this time, though.

You may have had a negative impression of Sione Tuipulotu and the impact he might have had on England as they started to win the physical contest. When England was shoving Scotland attacks away from the 5m line and out of the 22, at other times, you wondered about the formidable presence of Scott Cummings and Max Williamson and the possible impact of their presence on this game of attrition.

Russell will undoubtedly regret that late conversion, which sneaked wide, because it was a difficult kick and the fly-half had no justification to blame. He always had a chance of not succeeding.

The other two, however? The mesmerizing Ben White try’s conversion was omitted, and the attempted extras failed in the wake of the brilliant Huw Jones score that followed? Perhaps they robbed him more. particularly the very first one.

A player of Russell’s class, with a goal-kicking record to match the very best, would have backed himself to make one or both. One would have done, as it transpired. In this odd, tense, and thrilling encounter, elite sport and the narrow margins between joy and despair were dominant.

Russell sat on the grass, applauding the other players who had already shown him his way, and eliciting a man’s emotions that weren’t all that bad. Not yet. Too soon.

All of his team-mates were finding their own way of handling the disappointment. Jamie Ritchie, who had been immense, just stood still, as if frozen. Duhan van der Merwe took a moment to look up at the heavens, causing total chaos with almost every touch. There was no solace in that night sky, alas.

In the aftermath, Townsend, White and Grant Gilchrist all spoke about Russell and how this defeat was not his fault. Of course it wasn’t. Even though it was so dramatic, the regrets will be present throughout the dressing room.

The Scotland players will suffer when they sit down to reflect on this defeat because they had so many chances to defeat England in a first-half that was blistering.

They might also be furious at the awarding of England’s try. Tommy Freeman’s explosive run for the line was captured by so many cameras, none of which definitively demonstrated that he had actually grounded the ball.

Scotland, the only team with any interest in rugby, were clever and relentless in pushing the boundaries and crushing England to pieces when the pressure was right.

England kicked and tackled. Their fans sighed and groaned. A buffer that might have kept them from falling could have been provided by Scotland, which was a dozen points clear. In that opening 40, the rapier was working on the bludgeon, but he only had three points to win at the break.

In the first half, there was a car crash, and in the second, there was a lot of ferocity in England’s defense. As the competition progressed, it was the only aspect of their game that was world-class. Scrambling, scragging and shunting Scotland back with their power – this was a victory for defence.

Whatever form you take home when you lose four straight to Scotland, you’ll take the victory. Ugly, sure. Flawed, no doubt about it. There’s plenty wrong with England’s attack and Steve Borthwick’s ongoing battle to get the best out of his players, but nothing at all wrong with their belligerence and pride.

Where was the harm done when that heartbreaking break from Stafford McDowall and Van der Merwe’s finish almost came to an end for Scotland?

In their inability to be completely ruthless, in their difficulties with England’s power, in their struggles to get Van der Merwe to be just as destructively involved in the second half as he was in the first, and in their failure to do so.

He was not able to find an answer in England. When he ran at them, the first defender or two flung off him in fear that the cavalry was approaching, and the third hung on uncontrollably.

In the second half, Van der Merwe was largely depleted of ball. Scotland attempted to go wide, but they occasionally made poor decisions when a pass was being made, and occasionally they were simply smashed in the tackle.

Townsend later claimed that Scotland performed better on Saturday than they did in some of the matches his team has won against England. That’s a stretch, but you could see his point. He will be left in awe of the opportunities they gave him.

Scotland had 59% territory and 58% possession. They scored three tries to England’s one. They carried for 933m compared to England’s 474m. They made nine line breaks to England’s two. They beat 35 defenders to England’s 10.

Stats, eh? None of them mattered. None of them offered comfort. They might find it easier to accept if England outperformed them, but that wasn’t the case.