Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Finn flak unfair

As one of Scotland's few genuine global superstars, Finn Russell's performances are subject to a level of scrutiny reserved for only the top players.

When Scotland win, often the headlines speak to a Russell masterclass, even if his display has featured good moments and bad.

When Scotland lose, the fly-half, the team's chief creative force, is invariably a lightning rod for fierce criticism.

Russell missed the game-defining conversion from Duhan van der Merwe's 79th minute try, a tough kick, but one that he would expect to nail more times than not.

The missed conversion after Ben White's try was a far bigger error, but the focus on the three missed kicks, and the suggestion that Russell cost Scotland victory, has unfairly coloured reviews of the Bath man's performance.

He was instrumental in Scotland's attack cutting England open time and again in the first half, and the blame can't be laid at his door for the fumbles and sloppy breakdown work that prevented the Scots from converting the chances that would have put England away.

Scotland started losing the physical battle after the break and even the best 10s will struggle to guide their team to victory when their ball-carriers are being knocked backwards.

Those missed kicks were crucial, no question, but to suggest Russell had a poor game is wide of the mark, and those dismissing his credentials to be the Lions fly-half this summer off the back of it are overlooking, or forgetting, his quality.

Put Russell behind a Lions pack beside a Sione Tuipulotu or Bundee Aki and watch him shine.

Referee calls in the spotlight again

Speaking of that game-defining conversion, Russell's kick would have been easier had it been taken from the right mark.

As Russell lined up his kick, referee Pierre Brousset ordered him to move his tee two metres wide of the line where Van der Merwe touched down. It was an inexplicable decision in a crucial moment, and with the shot clock running, there was no time for Russell to argue the point.

The Television Match Officials seem very keen to involve themselves in Test matches these days, so why is Brousset not getting some help? A word in the ear to say," Pierre, the original tee position was just fine".

Several calls from Brousset had the Scotland fans up in arms, some justifiably so, some not. What is clear is match officials are too often having too big an influence on Test matches.

No referee should have to put up with personal abuse. The sport needs them. However, like players and coaches, their performances should be analysed in the proper way, and it felt like Brousset and his support team got a few calls wrong.

Another Six Nations slips away

It's wearily familiar territory for Scottish fans to be sitting after round three with their Six Nations dreams already down the pan.

In truth, the hopes of a promising campaign started to unravel the moment captain Sione Tuipulotu, such a totemic figure in this Scotland team, was ruled out of the tournament through injury before the opening round.

The injuries have piled up since and the Scottish squad depth, despite improving in recent years, has been exposed as too shallow to cope with five rounds of Six Nations battles.

For Gregor Townsend, the questions return about his ability to break this team through to the next level, namely being in the title hunt at the business end of the tournament.

After eight cracks at it, many feel he has taken the team as far as he can. Others feel with his limited resources and crippling injury list this time around, the head coach is being harshly judged against the expectations he has helped to create.

Former Scotland captain John Barclay told the BBC's Rugby Union Podcast he feels Townsend's position should not be under threat, but admitted that if Scotland lose to Wales in round four and are left staring at a campaign of one win from five, it may be time for a different conversation.

Scotland agonisingly missed out on another Calcutta Cup victory after a narrow Twickenham defeat.

Gregor Townsend's side now face another free weekend before facing Wales, at Murrayfield, on Saturday 8 March.

With that in mind, have you got any burning questions to put to our rugby writers Tom English and Andy Burke? Send them in via this link, external, and they will be answered on this page later in the week.

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Second row Grant Gilchrist says it "hurts" for Scotland to be out of Six Nations title contention after round three following the one-point defeat by England.

A bruising loss to Ireland and the loss at Twickenham leaves Scotland on one win from three games, with Wales to come at Murrayfield before a final weekend visit to play France.

"We came here to win because we knew we'd put ourselves in a position where we needed to win," Gilchrist told BBC Scotland.

"But we have to focus on that level of performance - it is going to win us more games than it loses us.

"We have to now look at winning our last two games and where that will leave us in the Championship. Depending on other results, that's where we're at.

"Obviously, it hurts to be saying that. I want to be standing here going: 'We have two games and we've got a chance to win the Championship.'

"But we weren't quite good enough."

After Wales put up a strong fight before eventually going down to grand-slam chasing Ireland, Gilchrist expects a rejuvenated side to arrive at Murrayfield on 8 March, regardless of their run of 15 straight defeats.

"Six Nations games are so tough - every game is a proper test match now," Gilchrist added.

"If you're not at your very best, you don't win.

"Wales will be taking a lot of positives from their game and they'll be coming up to Murrayfield to win.

"For us, it has to be another step forward in our performance levels.

"I believe if we add another layer to what we put on [against England], we win the game next week and we go to Paris - looking to add a bit more on again and win there."

Scotland fans, we asked for your opinions on Scotland's agonising 16-15 loss to England in the Calcutta Cup.

Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Teamy: A great game to watch, but between six points left on the field and this sagging feeling that we just aren't clinical in the 22 - and for some reason never, ever think to go for drop goals - I'm feeling very deflated. England were very good, though ultimately we lost it rather than they won it. The spectre of going one from five is now hovering over me.

Jardine: Sadly we got what we deserved - a pat on the back for courage and invention, but negated again by poor discipline. Three kickers on the team, two on the pitch at the end. This will take a long time to recover.

Archie: Gregor Townsend has been brilliant and I don't blame him for today at all as our own errors cost us. We've got one maybe two more shots at the title in a generation. Roll the dice and get Franco Smith in charge. Townsend has reached his ceiling.

Al: Fantastic game of rugby! Scotland probably should have made more points out of their first half dominance but England fought back very impressively. Seemed like a fair result for a really tight match.

David: To score three tries to one and still lose shows that Townsend's time as coach continues to be a tale of 'what might have been'. I cannot see a change as long as Townsend is in charge. Scotland must have some new leadership if they are to challenge for the top spot.

Hector: Quite simple really - miss kicks, lose match. Finn Russell has mis-kicked his way out of the Lions contention as well as losing the Calcutta Cup to a much less deserving English team.

Ross: Once again Scotland snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Had enough ball and chances to win multiple games but failed to execute. Townsend has taken this team as far as he can. Time for a change.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Ben White says Scotland's failure to make their first-half dominance count against England was their downfall in their Calcutta Cup defeat at Twickenham.

The Scots scored brilliant tries through White and Huw Jones but passed up several other promising openings and went in at the break with just a three-point lead.

England hit back with a succession of penalties to edge in front and although Duhan van der Merwe scored in the 79th minute, Finn Russell's conversion for victory slid agonisingly wide as the home side held on for a 16-15 victory.

"It's frustrating to lose like that in the end, but ultimately we left a lot of opportunities out there in the game," White said.

"We made a lot of line breaks and we couldn't quite capitalise on them. Part of that is us and part of it is the fact that England scrambled really well and got over the ball really well.

"The way that we played at times was really good and really exciting, we dominated possession and territory in a lot of the game. Ultimately we didn't come away with enough points when we got entries into that 22.

"We have to look at ourselves as a collective, as a team, how can we be better in those key moments once we get into the 22 to make sure we come away with points and be accurate there, to keep the pressure on. We didn't do that today and we let England get off."

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Former Scotland prop Peter Wright says Gregor Townsend's side cost themselves a fifth consecutive Calcutta Cup victory with their wastefulness at Twickenham.

Finn Russell's missed conversion after Duhan van der Merwe's second try of the game ultimately cost the Scots in a 16-15 defeat, essentially ending their title hopes.

Scotland dominated almost every statistic but failed to convert several entries into the England 22 into points, and Wright was left frustrated by the loss to a team who he wasn't too impressed by.

"Scotland lost that game, England didn't win it," he said on Sportsound. "England were awful - as an attacking force, really poor.

"That's what makes it so frustrating - to beat England three tries to one at Twickenham and still lose the game."

On Russell's poor afternoon off the tee, former Scotland full-back Chris Paterson expressed his sympathy for the Bath stand-off.

"You train for putting earlier kicks out of your mind and sticking to your process," he said. "Finn takes pride in that. He has been kicking tremendously well through the Autumn Nations Series and since then.

"There were opportunities missed in terms of try-scoring as well. It's a tough one to take for Finn."

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, speaking to BBC Scotland: "I'm proud of how we played today. In the first half, our execution was very good - our contact work was outstanding.

"We created opportunities. We scored three tries and will look back and think we could have scored more. In a lot of ways it was a better performance than we've had down here when we've won.

"England defended very well. They are very good in their own 22. Credit goes to them. With that amount of possession we're normally good at converting into points. Today we didn't do that often enough.

"Finn was a big part of us getting three tries. He has kicked a lot of very important points for us in the past.

"The reality is we didn't win and are likely now not going to win the championship. It's a performance we can build on over the next two rounds."

England edged towards the business end of the Six Nations in contention for the title as Finn Russell missed a 79th-minute conversion and Scotland's Calcutta Cup winning streak ended at Allianz Stadium.

What did you think of that, Scotland fans? Where did it go wrong at Twickenham?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

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Scotland co-captain Rory Darge told BBC Scotland: "We scored more tries, but to be honest there were a lot of opportunities that we didn't make the most of.

"Part of that is England defended well, but we know we made enough opportunities to win that game, we maybe just didn't execute.

"It is tough. It was a big game in terms of the championship and obviously it's Scotland-England. We're gutted we couldn't get a win.

"There's no excuse for a drop-off now. We need to deliver in the next two games."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Co-captain Rory Darge insists barbs this week from the English media about Scotland's forward pack has not provided any extra motivation for Saturday's Calcutta Cup showdown at Twickenham.

After being physically outmuscled in the defeat to Ireland in round two of the Six Nations, several pundits have predicted England will have the edge in the physical stakes, with former World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward saying in a newspaper column he expected the English pack to "monster" their opponents and "win with a bit to spare".

"It's not something we use as fuel, certainly I don't," Darge said before a game both sides need to win to keep their title hopes alive.

"It's something you should be proud of; what you do as a forward pack. It's always an important factor of the game, isn't it, the physicality between the two packs.

"It's not something we'll shy away from, but it's not necessarily something that we use. I don't think there's any reason for added fuel.

"Historically it's always been a game that as a fan you watch with more interest than others and now that you're actually playing in it, sometimes you have to take any moment you can to reflect on the fact that you're actually involved in one now.

"But the absolute main driver is obviously the fact it's a Six Nations game and if we win, we get four or five points."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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On Gregor Townsend's watch, the Calcutta Cup has been a riot of brilliance and tries. In his seven games coaching against England - of which Scotland have lost just one - his team have scored a whopping 19 tries.

To get some perspective on those numbers, consider this. In the 19 Calcutta Cups that went before, Scotland were kept tryless 10 times and scored a total of just 14 tries.

The difference in eras is stark. Scotland haven't just scored buckets of tries in this game - Duhan van der Merwe has six and Huw Jones has five - they've scored buckets of classic tries, so many that I'm going to have a stab at rating them, from 10 to one.

Agree or disagree with the selections or the running order, but we can surely agree on one thing: each one was a total belter.

10 Ben White, Murrayfield 2022: Blink and you'll miss it opportunism. Darcy Graham motors and then turns Joe Marchant inside out before finding White, on his debut. Simple, but delicious. England torn apart.

9 Stuart McInally, Twickenham 2019: Scotland were being blitzed 31-0 at Twickenham. Just before half-time, Stuart McInally charged down Owen Farrell 65m from the England posts and then picked up and ran. The hooker had wing Jonny May in pursuit, but May couldn't live with him. Over went McInally, out came the oxygen mask for the exhausted hero and back Scotland came in one of the great fightbacks.

8 Duhan van der Merwe's first, Murrayfield 2024: Unstoppable Jones accelerates through a gap and England are on the back foot in major bother. Two scrambling Englishmen eventually bring the centre to the ground but in a blur, Jones offloads on the floor to the on-rushing wing.

7 Duhan van der Merwe's second, Murrayfield 2024: England attacking, a loose pass bounces off George Furbank's face and goes to ground. Jones is onto it. From the deck he finds Van der Merwe who has half of Murrayfield to cover and absolute certainty in his eyes that he's going to cover it. Henry Slade reaches out forlornly to stop him like a man about to lose his grip on a cliff edge and away the big fella went.

6 Huw Jones, Murrayfield 2018: A sensational solo score. Jones has been a monumental force in Calcutta Cups. Exploding through a gap between Nathan Hughes and Owen Farrell, Jones darted into the England 22 where Mike Brown and Anthony Watson looked set to clobber him. Jones was having none of it. He just took them with him over the line.

5 Sam Johnson, Twickenham 2019: A gorgeous moment from Finn Russell, whose eyes suggested he was passing deep only to hit Sam Johnson with a flat ball. It's just terrific deception and skill. Johnson flew away, stepped Jack Nowell and held off Elliot Daly to score, From 31-0 down to leading 38-31. Spine-tingling.

4 Duhan van der Merwe, Twickenham 2021: A seismic victory, the first at Twickenham since 1983 and sealed with a razor-sharp score. A Russell bomb is won in the air by Sean Maitland. Matt Fagerson carries like a demon over the gainline. Scotland see space on the other side of the pitch. It comes to Van der Merwe who batters through Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola for the decisive and historic score.

3 Duhan van der Merwe's first, Twickenham 2023: England were told not to kick loosely to Scotland, but they did and the wing ran it straight back at them for one of the greatest solo tries the tournament has ever seen.

He beat Joe Marchant and Ollie Chessum, he eluded Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet and then did Alex Dombrandt for good measure. Five defenders beaten in one mesmeric play. Unforgettable.

2 Sean Maitland, Murrayfield 2018: It'll be remembered for Russell's pass to Jones, the moment of sheer audacity and excellence that sparked an incredible breakout. That on its own was a wow moment, but then Scotland went the length of the pitch to score.

It then came down to Russell to float the try-scoring pass to Maitland, which he did with apparent ease. It was anything but easy. It was wondrous, from first second to last.

1 Duhan van der Merwe's second, Twickenham 2023: One of the great team tries. Time was running out and Scotland were in their own half. From there - perfection. The speed of the attacks, the accuracy of the work, backs and forwards eating up yards while playing heads-up rugby. Joyous.

The last act told you everything. Having pulled England this way and that, they struck for glory. Fraser Brown fed Richie Gray who flipped it on to Matt Fagerson, who put Van der Merwe loose. The colossus had to beat Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell and Max Malins. Easy and extraordinary at the same time.

We asked for your views on Scotland's squad selection to face England.

Here's what some of you said:

Henry: Typical flawed selection by Gregor Townsend. No George Horne. Go ask Franco Smith who he would have as his number nine. Matt Fagerson on the bench replaced by flakey Jamie Ritchie who wouldn't get a game for Glasgow. Jonny Gray a lumbering defensive lock with no nasty ball-carrying ability. Sadly Scott Cummings and Max Williamson not fit but Sam Skinner is. Time for Franco Smith.

James: Great move bringing Ritchie in. People forget that at his best, he is one of the best. But something he brings that very few seem to bring is leadership. Where other players match his playing abilities, they do not match his leadership abilities. Fun stat: since losing the captaincy, the only games Scotland have won are the ones where he starts.

Robbie: If Finn Russell is to be our first-choice 10 he has to produce high level performances consistently. He rarely does. One good game in three is not good enough. Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley performant at a high level consistently.

Anon: Selection much to be expected. But not sure on 6-2 split on the bench. We got caught out against the Irish, we played a scrum half on the wing for 60 minutes.

Duncan: What does Horne have to do to get a start? Ben White is too slow at the breakdown.

Doug: Happy to see Finn is starting, it's a shame for Darcy Graham but hopefully he's back in the starting 15 for the last two games. I would have dropped a forward from the replacements and had Cameron Redpath on the bench though.

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Gregor Townsend was keen to play down Scotland's prospects heading into this weekend's Calcutta Cup showdown, despite boasting an impressive record in the fixture himself.

Of his seven Calcutta Cup matches as head coach, he has won five, drawn one and lost only one, however, the 51-year-old remained diplomatic when asked if that stellar track record has changed the psychology around this fixture from a Scotland point of view.

"No, this is a very tough fixture," he said. "Playing at Twickenham is always one of our hardest games and in recent years we've got on the right side of the result.

"But they've been very close games and we've had to play very, very well to get those wins. So we know that's what we'll have to do on Saturday."

Last year's 30-21 win at Murrayfield made it four straight wins against the Auld Enemy for the first time since 1896, which would suggest the squad could potentially turn up to Twicken unphased by the fear factor the venue used to hold.

Townsend was equally as keen to dismiss any suggestion this would be on the player's minds.

He added: "Well, I'm not sure if there was a fear factor.

"I think it was just a place over history that had been very tough for us because England are always a strong team.

"This group of players have had the experience of winning at Twickenham, which can help as you prepare for the game. But the reality is what happens in the 80 minutes and we know it's going to be a very tough match."