SCOTLAND 9

ENGLAND 15

SO near on the scoreboard. So far in reality.

Scotland may have finished less than a full score behind England, but they were never ahead in the game, and never level once George Kruis opened the scoring. In other words, while still officially in with a chance of snatching the game at the death, they were stretched to the limit merely to stay in contention.

The long wait for an opening-day win in the RBS Six Nations Championship thus goes into its second decade, while the wait for a home try against England will have extended to 14 years by the time the next opportunity comes around. The optimism engendered by last year’s Rugby World Cup may not have evaporated entirely as a result of Saturday’s undistinguished outing, but it has certainly been put into a sobering context.

If Scotland are indeed continuing to make progress, as Vern Cotter insisted after the match, they are not doing so in a vacuum. England, for one, are making improvements more quickly.

Eddie Jones, the visitors’ new coach, was true to his promise that he would restore the traditional virtues to the team. They were big, they were solid, they were powerful, and after an initial struggle in the scrum they gradually got on top of the Scots in just about every department of the contest.

But this was more than just a display of lumbering power from the English. They were more impressive in attack than Scotland, scoring two tries to nil, and they were smarter and swifter in defence. Indeed, if there was one aspect of either team’s play that reminded us of the virtues of the World Cup, it was the line speed shown by that defence as they shut down Scotland’s last attacks.

Otherwise, this was a typical Northern Hemisphere battle, and indeed a typical Calcutta Cup match. Invention was at a premium, and both teams made too many mistakes for the game ever to become really engrossing.

The fact that England made fewer errors was the biggest contributory factor to the result. Their first try came from a simple move, begun after Stuart Hogg had conceded a five-metre scrum. Billy Vunipola, England’s No 8 and the man of the match, picked up and drove, then the ball was recycled for Kruis to crash over the line from two metres out.

Owen Farrell converted, but Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw soon narrowed that lead with a penalty, and struck again not long before half-time to make it 6-7. The home team could actually have gone in front before the break, but they spurned an overlap on the right when deep in English territory and eventually settled for a drop-goal attempt instead, only to see Finn Russell’s effort go wide of the posts.

That was as close as Scotland would get to taking the lead, although in the second half Russell had another gilt-edged opportunity. That chance came after Jack Nowell had scored his team’s second try, laid on for him by a behind-the-back pass from substitute Mako Vunipola.

England continued to press after that unconverted score, but when Russell intercepted the field opened up for him. With only one defender getting close, the stand-off had Hogg on his outside, and between them the two backs would surely have been able to run the ball in. Instead, Russell kicked ahead, the ball went in to touch, and the chance was gone.

Another penalty from Farrell made it 6-15 before Laidlaw’s third successful kick of the afternoon have his team a glimmer of hope. But in the ten minutes and more that remained, Scotland were unable to make any real inroads, and that glimmer slowly sputtered out.

This week’s visit to Wales was always going to look daunting for Cotter’s team even if they had beaten England, but it has now taken on a more forbidding aspect. For all their promise in the backs and extra competitiveness up front, Scotland still look more naive and less self-assured than most of their opponents. Cotter himself is still waiting for a first win in the Six Nations, and he has now presided over all but one game in what has become the worst losing streak - eight games - for Scotland since the competition began in its present format in 2000.

There is a long way to go in this championship, of course, and even if they lose to Wales, Scotland will then have a fortnight in which to regroup before visiting Italy. They still have not only the raw ingredients but also the successful recipe for defeating the Italians, as they showed twice last summer. And if they do that, they will approach the home game against France in an altogether more confident frame of mind.

Anyone seeking more grounds for optimism could point to the debut off the bench of Zander Fagerson, at 20 a precocious tighthead prop who promises to have a long and prosperous career. The victory of the under-20s over their English counterparts on Friday night was also an encouraging sign.

But these are matters for the medium- to long-term future. The immediate prospect for Cotter and his coaching colleagues is a few days of hard work on restoring some self-belief in their squad.

SCOTLAND

Pens: Laidlaw 3.

ENGLAND

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

Referee: J Lacey. Attendance: 67,144.