Finn Russell sat slumped on the Twickenham turf, replaying those final, crucial, excruciating moments in his head. There is perhaps nothing as isolating in rugby, described this week by England captain Maro Itoje as the ultimate team game, as a kick at goal; stood alone a few metres from the tee, a great amphitheatre falling silent as one lines up a strike, the match hinging on your putting of boot to ball.
Amid the gnawing of fingernails, Russell looked confident. Duhan van der Merwe veer towards the corner as he stormed in a scintillating Scottish score had made the conversion tough, but the fly half has an outstanding kicking record at international level. Bath teammate and England prop Will Stuart admitted afterwards that he fully expected his club colleague to land the conversion; England were already planning a restart that would give them an opportunity to snatch a win slipping from their grasp.
