England vs. Scotland: Score and Reaction from 2017 Six Nations Round 4
England won their second straight Six Nations title and tied New Zealand's 18-match unbeaten streak on Saturday, as the Three Lions marched to a 61-21 rout of rivals Scotland.
Jonathan Joseph scored a hat-trick of tries, while Anthony Watson, Billy Vunipola and Danny Care (twice) added tries of their own, with Owen Farrell nearly flawless from the tee. Gordon Reid and Huw Jones (twice) crossed the line for the Scots, with Finn Russell adding the extras.
With Ireland losing to Wales on Friday, England have already won the Six Nations ahead of the final round of fixtures.
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The match started in disastrous fashion for the visitors, who lost Fraser Brown to the sin bin after just two minutes.
The Scot went into Elliot Daly late, and he was lucky to walk away with just a yellow card, per Mick Cleary of the Daily Telegraph:
"Should have been red for Fraser Brown
— Mick Cleary (@MickClearyTel) March 11, 2017"
Facing the in-form English squad down a man was the last thing the Scots needed, and just two minutes after Brown's yellow card, Joseph crossed the line to give his side the lead.
Alex Dunbar couldn't bring his man down, and a short sprint later, Joseph was in. Farrell added the extras to make it 7-0.
Just a few minutes later, England had a double-digit lead. Farrell took the three points after a Scottish penalty, and BigSport were already anticipating a blowout loss for the visitors:
And things got worse for Scotland. Russell couldn't find touch with his kick, setting England up with great field position once again. A penalty at the ruck gave Farrell another look at the posts, and he converted with ease, making the score 13-0.
Stuart Hogg trotted to the sideline for a head injury assessment, and his replacement, Mark Bennett, needed a stretcher to leave the pitch just four minutes later.
Famous author J.K. Rowling summed up Scotland's first half:
Joseph added a second try after 25 minutes, but Reid got his side on the board just minutes later, as the Scots opted to forego an easy penalty for the lineout.
Momentum stayed with the hosts, however, and a silly mistake from Jonny Gray allowed Farrell to add to the lead from the tee. And just three minutes later, England scored again, as Watson took a great pass from Joseph and exploited Scotland's weak midfield defence.
The half ended with Farrell's first miss from the tee, a wide strike from a long way out that normally would have been kicked by Daly, who was on the sidelines.
Despite the miss, BBC Sport's Dan Walker noted the hosts were making mincemeat of their rivals:
England's absurd pace continued in the second half, and Russell only just managed to intercept a pass from Ben Youngs.
Scotland's resistance lasted exactly three minutes, before Joseph completed his hat-trick with a strong run close to the ruck.
BenchWarmers weighed in on the massacre at Twickenham:
"Best Scotland team in years?? #ENGVSCO pic.twitter.com/WGMTjtSTPB
— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) March 11, 2017"
A penalty goal after a mistake at the breakdown made it 40-7, but England seemed to lose their concentration in the rout a bit, and Jones beat Joseph for the first time all match, diving over at the corner to reduce the deficit.
The Scots' hopes of ending England's unbeaten run had long vanished at that point, however, and substitute Vunipola needed just seven minutes to add his name to the scoresheet, scoring after a lineout.
England finally took their foot off the gas, with most of the bench getting the chance to play in front of the home fans on this historic occasion.
Ryan Wilson and Jamie George had a massive collision, leaving the former in need of HIA.
Jones added a second try with 10 minutes left to play, but the fans at Twickenham barely cared. Two minutes later, Vunipola found Care from the lineout, and the scoring fest continued.
With the opportunity to hang 60 points on their rivals, England pushed for another late try, earning a scrum from five metres out. George Ford tried to pick out a team-mate with a kick, but the Scots finally got a stop.
The Three Lions attacked well past the 80-minute mark and finished the match with a bang, as Care got his second try and Farrell put the final score on the board with his boot.
Pet the Six Nations' official Twitter account, coach Eddie Jones believes there's more success in England's future:
" Eddie Jones: “The players have worked hard and deserve it. We’re only just starting - we’re going to get better and better.”#ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/c225gRjg4P
— RBS 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 11, 2017"
England's final Six Nations match will be at Ireland, while Scotland host Italy.
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