Scotland were shut out from the scoreboard in the Calcutta Cup for the first time in 36 years as England powered to a 20-0 victory at Murrayfield tonight.
Tries from backs Luther Burrell and Mike Brown underpinned England’s dominance, but it was based on the formidable power of their forward pack, who gained an early stranglehold on their Scottish counterparts and refused to let go for the full 80 minutes.
In a dispiriting second half for the home fans in the 67,000 crowd, the Scots barely had any possession in the English 22 and spent much of it in their own, defending desperately.
Scottish debutant Chris Fusaro exemplified the defensive effort with 15 tackles and didn’t miss one, but the Scots struggled to retain their own ball in contact and the setpiece was a disaster for the second week in a row.
Hooker and former skipper Ross Ford lasted barely two minutes into the second half after four lost lineouts, while the Scottish scrummage was always under pressure and forced into conceding a series of penalties.
England’s Owen Farrell missed three simple penalties, but Scottish skipper Greig Laidlaw also missed two well within his usual range and the Scots didn’t threaten the try line once in the 80 minutes.
A succession of careless penalties in the first 10 minutes allowed England their early foothold, and after Farrell had kicked them into the lead after a shocking miss with his first attempt, they scored a simple try.
From an attacking lineout the drive was stalled by the Scots, but a simple one-out move to Burrell running on an angle was enough to breach the Scottish defence and the big centre reached for the try.
Brown’s try just before the hour settled any faint hopes the Scots had of an unlikely comeback, finishing well after wing Jack Nowell had broken a tackle going up the left touchline.