History Made: Scotland’s Stunning Day of Glory
Scotland’s Calcutta Cup clash delivered 5 thunderous moments of redemption, as controlled fury and Six Nations grit crushed England in style.
Standing pitchside after Scotland's bazooka proved too much for England's pop gun, Sione Tuipulotu, a captain coming back from the abyss, spoke about the trauma his players went through after the defeat in Rome a week ago. A week that now feels like a year.
Now, in a happier place, he doesn't remember feeling so sad after a game since last weekend's Italy loss. He felt the pain of that defeat "deep inside." Then he took it out on England.
Tuipulotu spoke as if he'd undergone therapy. In his mind's eye, you can imagine him lying on a couch with the sound of water gently splashing in his ears. It's better than hearing harsh comments about his team and hurtful remarks about his head coach.
Gregor Townsend later reflected on what he said.
Perhaps a part of him wanted to vent his anger on all the doubters, which was almost everyone outside his bubble. He didn't go there.
He might have felt like celebrating after the 31-20 win, but he restrained himself.
Townsend's face was stone-cold. No smile, no joke, no sense of having just achieved a major victory. If you didn't know better, you'd swear he was a losing coach, not a man blazing a trail.
He didn't say it explicitly, but this week has been a terrible one for him. Now he's been punished for a week. He has all the proof he needs that his team, on its best days, when its anger and vengeance are at their peak, can truly be great.
It's one thing to get excited when there's cordite in the air. It's quite another to get there when you can only smell roses.
Having used that horrific experience in Rome as fuel for Murrayfield, what will take them back to that dark place – as prop Pierre Schoeman might say – before Wales in Cardiff on Saturday?
It's the next Test, the next crucial match.
Scotland go into Cardiff as hot favorites, but without three Calcutta Cup players. Victory has come at a cost.
Jack Dempsey, a fighter with his feet, Jamie Ritchie, who becomes a warrior in 40 minutes, and Jamie Dobie, class in every area, will be gone for Wales after the bad experience in Rome.
Dempsey and Ritchie may never be seen again in the Championship.
Townsend could have played without those setbacks, but he's used to the devastation of Six Nations rugby. He also has good deputies for the trip to the Principality Stadium.
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One win must become two wins, or the significance of what happened at Murrayfield will fade away like so many other victories over England. Unless this is carried forward properly, this is a one-time win, and everyone associated with this team is fed up with one-time wins.
The self-doubt that Scotland had about themselves has now fallen on England. This is a heavy burden. It's often said that Scotland plays for England more than any other team. We can debate how true that is until the truth comes out.
The question about this England team, and the teams before them that have lost five out of six against the Scots, is why don't they play for Scotland?
The reality must now dawn on the England players – 'Maybe it's not you, Scotland, maybe it's us.'
Tuipulotu said on Friday that his team was frustrated and he wanted that frustration to fall on England as well. His wish came true.
We knew Scotland possessed this kind of performance deep down—there had been plenty of, albeit brief, evidence of their class—but what we didn't know, what we couldn't believe, was their ability to display such controlled anger for 80 minutes.
But they did. This was Scotland's most powerful performance against England, a spectacle of thunder and beauty, class and heart, ruthlessness and intelligence. All the Calcutta Cup teams people had created before the match—a combined Scotland team averaged three or four players—were blown to smithereens. A new version would have more tartan than a shortbread factory.
This was a game with dozens of cameos to consider, not just the creation and completion of Scotland's tries, but the brilliance they displayed in defense. To a man, the starting team and the bench, they stood up.
Standed up for themselves, for their coach, for their supporters. Every tremendous play from the defense during that second half gave you an idea of how difficult the past week had been for them and how they were willing to do something – anything – to make it better.
There was a strange moment on a famous day: not Matt Fagerson charging at George Ford's poor last-minute drop goal, not Jones' offload, nor the way Jones scored on the road to score his second of the day and his eighth in eight Calcutta Cup matches.
It wasn't that Scotland had now secured a bonus point in a game they were supposed to lose, or that they were 18 points ahead of England, as strange as that may be.
No. What was strange was that there wasn't any weakness in the middle and in the stands, the Scottish faltering and complete disappearance of Scottish luck, which can sometimes be a local trait.
In recent seasons, watching this team lose big leads in games, or threaten to lose, has caused a certain anxiety. Mental turmoil, a victory left behind.
There was none of that this time. Despite England advancing, there wasn't the old, familiar uneasiness. You knew, as much as you could, that Scotland were winning this. That feeling of almost certainty—it was a strange feeling.
England had their moments while chasing, but Scotland faced every single one. It was raw, and it was special. Ambitious rugby is in this team's DNA. How can it not be when Finn Russell, who is so brilliant, is its creative pulse?
Against England, it was like fire. Scotland's balance hasn't always been perfect—too much rugby and too little dog—but on Saturday, it was inch-perfect. Absolutely brilliant.
The psychology of this team is something that would baffle even Sigmund Freud. Brilliantly unpredictable and, at times, impossible to understand, they are deeply entertaining—surprising, mesmerizing, brilliant. It was their perfect day.
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