Jonny Wilkinson marked his international return with a record-breaking performance as England opened their Six Nations campaign with victory over Scotland at Twickenham, on this day in 2007.
Wilkinson was back after injury and illness for his first England appearance since scoring the drop goal that had secured the 2003 World Cup.
And the fly-half delivered a man-of-the-match display, notching 27 points from a try, drop-goal, five penalties and two conversions, as the team beat Scotland 42-20 in their first match under Brian Ashton.
Wilkinson’s haul was a new Calcutta Cup record, breaking Rob Andrew’s tally of 24 from 1995.
The then 27-year-old said: “Someone said I’d scored a few points and that’s good, but my job in the team is to kick goals.
“To be honest, at 7-3 down I would have taken a win at any cost. But fortunately for me the ball went over today and I came through it fine.
“It has been a great team day. I’m a big believer in what you get out is what you put in and I have prepared well.
“I prefer to go into games tired but heavily prepared and today was the reward for all the preparation I’ve done.”
As well as Wilkinson, who was left bloodied from a cut lip sustained in a collision early on, there was also a comeback for Jason Robinson – the wing scored two tries in what was his first England appearance since retiring from Test rugby in 2005. Magnus Lund also crossed for Ashton’s side.
Scotland threatened a shock when Simon Taylor grabbed a first-half try, but they had to wait until the 77th minute for a second via replacement Rob Dewey.
