FORGET the Rugby World Cup and the respective fortunes of the two teams there. This was a traditional Calcutta Cup match, with an all-too- traditional outcome.

Scotland fought all the way at Murrayfield, and probably played more creative rugby. England did not need to be elaborate in their attacks, because they had the muscle required to dominate the match – and, crucially, the fitness to last the pace in defence.

“Easy”, was the verdict of new England coach Eddie Jones, who boasted that, if bonus points were on offer in the competition, his team would have gone for the two extra tries that would have yielded one. The margin of victory for the visitors suggested that the garrulous Australian was talking up his team too much, although, admittedly, they were never behind, and won the try count 2-0.

Scotland’s pack enjoyed a promising start, but their back row failed to prevail in the breakdown, where Billy Vunipola, the England No 8, was justly named man of the match. The backs had only a couple of chances to make a difference, notably when Finn Russell intercepted deep inside his own territory during the second half, but they failed to convert them.

That compared unfavourably with the cutting edge they displayed during the World Cup, and against opponents of this calibre it still seems to be the case that, while Scotland are improving, other Six Nations teams are doing so more quickly. This was their eighth successive loss in the Championship – their worst run in the tournament since five became half a dozen with Italy’s introduction in 2000.

England were more powerful at close quarters, as second-row George Kruis showed in scoring their first try, and they were also smarter with back-line moves, as Jack Nowell demonstrated when grabbing their second.

Scotland had chances of their own, notably when Russell kicked ahead instead of passing to Stuart Hogg, but England’s speed and organisation in defence was excellent to the end.

The first try came about when Hogg was caught in possession after fielding a kick ahead, and driven behind his own line to concede a five-metre scrum. Vunipola picked up and drove from the base, then in the next phase Kruis had little difficulty in forcing his way over the line. Owen Farrell converted, and with quarter of an hour gone England had a deserved lead.

Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw narrowed that advantage with a penalty a couple of minutes later after Dylan Hartley, his opposite number, had offended. The scrum-half made it 6-7 two minutes before half-time with another penalty, given against Joe Launchbury this time.

The Scots pressed hard in the time that remained before the break, but they could not get quick enough ball to profit from having extra men over on the right. Instead, they set up a drop-goal attempt for Russell, but the stand-off skewed his effort wide of the posts.

Farrell was also wide with a penalty nearly 10 minutes into the second half, but England were soon back on the attack. An attack up the right seemed to have little space to work in, but then Mako Vunipola, just off the bench, slipped a pass behind him to Nowell. The winger finished off the move from a few metres out, and although Farrell’s conversion attempt was wide, at 6-12 things were beginning to look ominous for Scotland.

England kept up the pressure for a time, but Russell relieved the pressure with that interception. With Hogg outside him and only one opponent close, a pass would have produced a good try-scoring chance. Instead, Russell kicked, and the ball went out of touch close to halfway – a costly mistake.

Inside the final quarter, Farrell was on the mark with a penalty to stretch his team’s lead to 6-15. A dozen minutes from time Laidlaw hit back with his third successful penalty, and Scotland were back to within a full score of taking the lead. They put a lot of effort into those closing stages, but at no stage did they really threaten opponents who had grown in confidence as the game went on.

SCOTLAND: Pens: Laidlaw 3.

ENGLAND: Tries: Kruis, Nowell. Con: Farrell. Pen: Farrell.

Scotland: S Hogg; S Maitland, M Bennett, M Scott, T Seymour (D Taylor 66); F Russell, G Laidlaw; A Dickinson (G Reid 58), R Ford (S McInally 65), W Nel (Z Fagerson 69), R Gray, J Gray (T Swinson 70), J Barclay (B Cowan 59), J Hardie, D Denton. Unused substitutes: S Hidalgo-Clyne, D Weir.

England: M Brown; A Watson, J Joseph, O Farrell, J Nowell; G Ford, D Care (B Youngs 55); J Marler (M Vunipola 49), D Hartley (J George 77), D Cole, J Launchbury (C Lawes 47), G Kruis, C Robshaw (J Clifford 69), J Haskell, B Vunipola. Unused substitutes: P Hill, A Goode, O Devoto.

Referee: J Lacey (Ireland). Attendance: 67,144.