Scotland secured a stunning Six Nations success after a titanic tussle at Twickenham against England to retain the Calcutta Cup and claim a hat-trick of Auld Enemy wins.
A truly historic evening at the home of rugby also saw the dark blues deliver back-to-back triumphs in London for the first time ever and the first treble since 1972. A late try by Duhan van der Merwe ensured new England boss Steve Borthwick's reign got off to a losing start and allowed the Scots to raise their Six Nations curtain with a bonus point win with Wales next up at Murrayfield next weekend.
It was England who exerted the early pressure on a Scotland side which was loose with some of their clearing kicks which allowed the hosts to sustain their surges forward.
That kicking game dominated the early stages but that was to change in the 15th minute as Townend's side took a lead in the 15th minute with their first Finn Russell fed Huw Jones who was held up before the ball was recycled and Sione Tuipulotu's deft kick through was touched down by Jones for a superb try.
A fifth score in five outings for the Glasgow Warrior and Russell banged over the extras to send the dark blues into a 7-0 advantage and a dream start. It wouldn't be long before the visitors were brought bang down to earth.
England were dominating the ball and a precision crossfield kick by Marcus Smith punctured the Scottish line and allowed Max Malin to gather and dive with Van der Merwe nowhere to be seen as a defensive cover.
Farrell pulled his conversion and Van der Merwe more than made amends as he edged Scotland further ahead with a brilliant weaving run from inside his own half after accepting Ben White's pass before evading five English tackles to grab one of the great tries in the history of this ancient fixture.
Russell cracked the conversion against a post and it was a careless moment from the playmaker but Scotland had secured another seven point lead.
That battle for territory again had the English enjoying the greater share and two minutes before the break, new boss Steve Borthwich would have breathed a sigh of relief as another slick attacking surge brought another try.
Again it was Malins who benefitted from an overload and this time Lewis Ludlam was the supplier as he went over in the corner but again Farrell was off-target with the extras.
The half was to end with England edging into a one point lead as WP Nel was punished for straying offside and there would be no mistake this time from Farrell as he eased over the penalty from beneath the posts to take his side into the dressing room with a 13-12 lead.
A hugely entertaining 40 minutes had come to a close and the hosts may have managed to get their noses in front but there was so much to be encouraged bu from a Scotland performance which had carried the fight to their opponents for spells by putting together several swashbuckling attacking surges and moments to savour. The contest was on a knife edge with the worry that England were now getting into their rhythm.
An audience of 82,000 were served up an extravaganza of attacking rugby but a succession of careless individual errors after the restart wasn't doing Scotland any favours as England continued to carry the greater threat and the dark blue defence was breached again in the 48th minute.
England worked the ball superbly into the hands of Ellis Genge who powered over from close-range and Farrell converted to create daylight between the sides with a 20-12 lead.
Another inspired Scottish try arrived four minutes later as Ben White swivelled past several tackles before racing over for the score, Russell added the extras and it was once again a one point game.
Kyle Steyn then fumbled a Stuart Hogg pass after Scotland looked certain to score on the break in the 59th minute and again it looked like a costly error.
Another cheap penalty was conceded and Farrell banged over another three points to edge the game further in his side's favour.
Russell's penalty 11 minutes from time again reduced the deficit to a single point
The came glory with the clock ticking down as a surging move saw van der Merwe deliver the touchdown and Russell converted to secure a win for the ages.
Here's three things we learned.
FULL HOUSE JACKPOT
The home of rugby was a far cry from the ghost stadium which hosted the last meeting between these two sides in London.
Scotland's 2021 triumph ended 38 years of winless trips to London and this was to be a repeat of those heroics.
A packed Twickenham witnessed a memorable Six Nations opener which managed to get Gregor Townsend's side off to a winning start just when it looked like being a familiar story of being sent home by the Auld Enemy to think again.
Scotland went toe to toe with a revived English outfit and can count themselves more than deserving of coming out on top of a fixture which swung in their favour. As always it comes down to small margins and it was a never-say-die approach which brought a success which will live long in the memory.
THREE IN-A-ROW
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend's contract will end after the World Cup later this year in France and he needs to build some Six Nations momentum to take into the tournament. Back to back wins over the English had created genuine belief that a hat-trick of successes and this was delivered at Twickenham in some style. This was defiance at and there were long spells when it appeared they wouldn't threaten to achieve that goal.
Character and spirit was written all over this display and provides a real belief that this Townsend era can finally produce a Six Nations of substance but with the wind in their sails and Wales lying in wait next Saturday, this triumph has to be one which is capitalised on as we have been here before.
ANGRY WELSH
All eyes now turn to Scotland's next challenge which is against a Welsh side smarting from a 34-10 loss to Ireland in Cardiff.
Warren Gatland's return to take charge of the Dragons got off to the worst possible start and he'll be looking for a reaction at Murrayfield next Saturday. Hell hath no fury like a Welsh team scorned and this latest humiliation has only served to make their trip to Edinburgh pivotal if they are to pull themselves back into the Six Nations mix.
Scotland have been well warned what to expect next weekend and there can be no false dawn this time.
Opening up a Six Nations campaign with a win over England is nothing new for this Scotland side and the task now is to build on the success and consistency is now the key.
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