England 16-15 Scotland: Finn Russell misses late conversion as Marcus Smith penalties regain Calcutta Cup

England win Calcutta Cup for first time in five years after narrow victory over Scotland; Finn Russell fails to add conversion to Scotland’s three tries, including one at the death, as two Marcus Smith penalties and one from the boot of Fin Smith get England over the line

Finn Russell missed a last-gasp conversion as England wrestled the Calcutta Cup out of Scotland’s grasp after five years of misery with a dramatic 16-15 victory at a rejoicing Allianz Stadium.

England’s nemesis Duhan van der Merwe looked to have guided Scotland to an unprecedented fifth successive Calcutta Cup triumph with his late try, but fly-half Russell failed to score the conversion.

The miss proved costly, with England grinding out a gutsy, if somewhat unconvincing, victory over their fierce rivals to regain the Calcutta Cup for the first time since 2020.

First-half tries from Ben White and Huw Jones, either side of Tommy Freeman’s reply, saw a dominant Scotland lead by three at the break but they were pegged back by three second-half penalties from Marcus and Fin Smith as England claimed only their second victory over Scotland in eight attempts.

The defeat effectively ends Scotland’s hopes of winning the Six Nations for the first time but, with fixtures against Italy and Wales to come, successive victories leave England in the hunt.

England end five years of Calcutta Cup hurt

Scotland had never won three successive games at Twickenham but their prize for doing so would be an unprecedented fifth Calcutta Cup in a row – and they set about seizing history in ruthless fashion.

Van der Merwe, fresh from his Murrayfield hat-trick in 2024, resumed his role as England’s tormentor-in-chief, creating Scotland’s first try with a bulldozing linebreak that released Tom Jordan down the left wing before he passed inside for scrum-half White to apply the finishing touch.

Scotland’s lead would last just five minutes. England mounted phase after phase on the Scottish tryline and were eventually rewarded for their patience when Freeman crashed over, with Marcus Smith’s conversion putting the hosts ahead.

But a mesmeric performance at fly-half from Russell would see Scotland wrestle back control, with the threat of Van der Merwe utilised to devastating effect on 19 minutes when he lured Marcus Smith and Ollie Lawrence to the ball and offloaded to Jones to crash over for a lead-restoring try.

Scotland repelled a Marcus Smith-inspired surge from England at the end of the first half to reach the interval three points ahead, but it served as a reminder their lead was perhaps too slender given their dominance.

England lost Tom Willis and Tom Curry to injury either side of the interval but remained steadfast in their defensive efforts, repelling everything Scotland threw at them before Smith’s first penalty levelled the score on 56 minutes.

Scotland conceded two penalties in a pivotal four-minute spell and were punished on both occasions by the boots of Marcus and Fin Smith, as England entered the final nine minutes with a six-point lead that not even Van der Merwe’s sixth try in three games against them could overturn, with Russell’s third missed conversion proving decisive.

What’s next?

The Six Nations pauses for another fallow week, after which Scotland host Wales at Murrayfield on March 8 (4.45pm), with England hosting Italy at Allianz Stadium on March 9 (3pm).