Inspired Scotland have England's number again in Calcutta Cup
Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Scotland v England - Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain - February 14, 2026 Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu lifts the Calcutta Cup trophy as he celebrates with teammates after victory over England REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
EDINBURGH, Feb 14 : Scotland produced an inspired performance to get the better of England again, with flyhalf Finn Russell leading his side to a 31-20 victory in a pulsating Six Nations clash at Murrayfield on Saturday that kept up their recent dominance of the Calcutta Cup.
Russell proved the talisman with an array of silky skills and accurate kicking, expunging the demons of a year ago when his missed conversions cost his side victory at Twickenham, and leading Scotland to their sixth win in their last nine clashes with the ‘auld enemy’.
Huw Jones scored two tries while Jamie Ritchie and Ben White got one each with Russell kicking a penalty and four conversions for Scotland.
England’s 12-match winning run was brought to an abrupt end as they managed just a try from Henry Arundell, who was twice yellow carded and handed a 20-minute red card, and a late score from Ben Earl.
Scotland were expected to show some reaction after a disappointing defeat in Italy last weekend but exceeded expectations as they burst into a 17-0 lead in the first quarter-hour with line breaks and speedy handling catching England cold.
Russell put over a fourth-minute penalty and then showed some audacious skill six minutes later as he slapped a fizzing pass from scrum-half White onto Jones on the left wing to allow the centre to go over for the first try.
Four minutes later, Scotland scored a second with Russell again key as he passed wide to Kyle Steyn on the right flank. The winger was stopped short, but the ball rapidly switched to the left, and skipper Sione Tuipulotu had time to swing out a long pass to unmarked flanker Ritchie, who trotted in for his try.
Russell converted both with the Scots making full use of their one-man advantage after Arundell’s eighth-minute yellow card for an infringement at the ruck.
RUSSELL’S GENIUS KEY TO SCOTLAND SUCCESS
Arundell’s return to the field saw him score near the posts after George Ford’s dummy set him up to crash over with England getting themselves back into the contest in the 21st minute after winning a scrum penalty.
It reduced the score to 17-7 before Ford put over a penalty to suggest England could forge their way back.
But another touch of Russell’s genius ensured a 24-10 halftime lead as he rode three tackles before chipping the ball towards the England line. Ellis Genge chased back but fumbled an effort to gather, allowing White to snap up the loose ball and dot down.
Arundell was then yellow-carded for a second time for a clumsy challenge on an airborne Steyn and handed a 20-minute red card, the first in 144 clashes between the two countries.
Ford’s penalty early in the second half made it 24-13, but England’s flyhalf had his attempted drop kick in the 53rd minute charged down by substitute Matt Fagerson, allowing Jones to dash more than half the length of the field to score and put Scotland handily ahead.
Earl got a consolation try two minutes from time, but by then England’s litany of mistakes and Scotland’s tenacity had settled the outcome.
"After 20 minutes I thought that was some of the best rugby we've ever played," said winning coach Gregor Townsend, who had been under pressure before the game.
"It's all you want as a coach and then to see the effort in the second half, we became a team that would fight for each other and the supporters."
England, with high hopes of challenging for the Six Nations, must now look for redemption against Ireland next week, when Scotland visit Wales.
"I think over the last 12 months we have been good at riding the wave and finding a way," said England captain Maro Itoje. "But today, we were not good at that. We will learn from it."
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
