Timmy T Maranda
Scotland stunned defending Champions England 11-6 in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations tournament for the first time since 1983, as they recorded one of the biggest upsets in the history of international rugby to claim the Calcutta Cup on Saturday at Twickenham.
Gregor Townsend’s side, brilliantly led by Stuart Hogg, joined the heroes of 1930, 1971 and 1983, to win at Twickenham, a feat beyond so many great players.
The Scotts drew first blood after forcing England into an error that resulted in a penalty within striking distance. Finn Russel slotted the first points of the contest. Scotland took advantage of the numerical advantage after Billy Vunipola was yellow carded for a high tackle on Russell.
South African born winger Duhan Van der Merwe scored Scotland’s first and only try of the match to extend the lead but Finn Russel missed the conversion. England’s Owen Farrell closed the gap with the conversion, Scotland went to the break leading 8-6.
In the second half, despite being the man down, the Scottish side were rewarded with a penalty for Finn Russell to extend the lead to 11-6. The Scotts absorbed the pressure from the defending Champions to hold on to the lead and claim the historic win.
Duhan van der Merwe reacted to scoring the only try of the contest on Scotland team twitter by saying “It’s my job but when I got the ball from George, I said to myself I need to finish this and I managed to get over the white wash.”
“We wanted to inspire the nation and hopefully we did that tonight,” said Duhan van der Merwe.
“I know it’s tough for you fans for not being able to celebrate this game with us but hopefully in the future we can and can’t wait for that day,” van der Merwe added.
Meanwhile, France began their campaign with a 50-10 bonus-point victory over Italy at Stadio Olimpico.
Scotland will host Wales in the next match of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations on Saturday at BT Murrayfield Stadium, kick-off 18:45 GMT.
Picture source: @Scotlandteam
