England’s new era under Steve Borthwick got off to a inauspicious start as two brilliant tries by Duhan van der Merwe helped a tenacious Scotland to a thrilling 29-23 victory at Twickenham in a superb Six Nations opener.
Scotland twice led in the first half with a try by Huw Jones and a spectacular 60-metre effort by Van der Merwe, who carved through five defenders. England hit back with two for recalled winger Max Malins then edged 13-12 ahead at half-time with a penalty by Owen Farrell.
It continued to swing in a high-energy second half as Ellis Genge barged over for England, with scrum-half Ben White quickly slipping through for Scotland’s third try to keep it as a one-point game heading into the final quarter.
A penalty apiece kept it that way until Scotland put together a superb attack to send an unstoppable Van der Merwe over in the corner four minutes from the end to retain the Calcutta Cup.
Follow live reaction from England vs Scotland below:
