Gregor Townsend becomes a fan again as Scotland stun England in Six Nations

EDINBURGH – Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said he had become a fan again after a barnstorming 31-20 Calcutta Cup win at the Murrayfield Stadium on Feb 14 ended England’s 12-game winning streak.

Townsend’s men arrived in Edinburgh following a dispiriting 18-15 loss away to Italy on Feb 7 in their Six Nations opener – a defeat that raised fresh questions about their ability to cope with adversity.

But Scotland ran in four tries on Feb 14 as they scuppered England’s hopes of a Grand Slam.

Scotland centre Huw Jones twice crossed England’s line to make it eight tries in eight Tests against the Auld Enemy, the centre’s double coming each side of scores from Jamie Ritchie and Ben White.

Henry Arundell hit back for England but only in between receiving two yellow cards in the first half – which led to a 20-minute red – before a late consolation try from Ben Earl.

“I’m so proud,” Townsend told reporters after Scotland’s fifth win in six Tests against England.

“Being a supporter, seeing the rugby that the players were playing, I had to realise I was a coach again and I snapped out of it quite quickly.”

It was a superb way for Scotland to mark Townsend’s 100th match as their coach, with the 52-year-old former playmaker’s position already called into question before the defeat by Italy after November’s spectacular loss at home to Argentina, where his side somehow squandered a 21-0 lead.

“These are the emotions that make you realise that coaching and still being involved in the game is hugely rewarding, gives you massive purpose in your life and why you do it,” said Townsend.

“But it’s the players that drive our performance.”

Townsend, reflecting on the fallout from losing to the Pumas, added: “The negativity from people in this room (the media) around what happened against Argentina, experiences like that make you stronger.”

But his nine years at the helm have failed to end Scotland’s record of never finishing higher than third in the Six Nations, with Dark Blues captain Sione Tuipulotu urging no let-up against struggling Wales in Cardiff on Feb 22.

“I really want us to show our growth next week by backing up this performance and, let’s be honest, in a stadium that we’ve had troubles in over the last 20 years,” said Tuipulotu.

England coach Steve Borthwick said Scotland deserved “huge credit” as he lamented Arundell’s time in the sin bin.

“Clearly, playing such a huge part of the game without a winger against a team that was moving the ball to that edge so much, that hurt us,” he said.

“What’s typically been happening over the last period of time is we’ve slowly reeled teams in.

“When we played against New Zealand and were 12-0 down, we reeled them in gradually.

“Unfortunately, we gave them too much of a head start and gave ourselves too much to do today.

“Henry’s disappointed, as all the players are, but I’m sure he’ll bounce back.”

In the earlier game on Feb 14, Ireland also bounced back from an opening-day defeat to see off Italy 20-13 at Lansdowne Road.

Jamie Osborne, Jack Conan and Robert Baloucoune crossed the line for the Irish, while Italy’s sole try came via Giacomo Nicotera. AFP