England 16-15 Scotland: 'tough' for players who 'delivered on effort' says Townsend after Calcutta Cup loss

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was proud of the effort from his players in their Six Nations defeat to England who lifted the Calcutta Cup for the first time in five years with just one point in the final scoreline.

Finn Russell missed a late conversion following a Duhan van der Merwe try that would have surely secured the victory but a combination of handling errors and penalties was their undoing. However, Townsend was eager to focus on many of the positive of the performance including outscoring the hosts three tries to one.

He said: “We scored three tries to one, so to get that possession and amount of yards I'm sure would have made a lot in the game. They were the positives, and the negatives or the work-ons were partly us, but also England, I thought they defended really well in their 22.

“They kept their discipline. Often when you get in the 22 you manage to get a penalty from offside, we didn't get that. And I thought they were really strong close to the ruck. So credit goes to them. We know we can be better when we've got those opportunities and we tend to convert chances that we have.

“I don't think we'd use adjectives like ‘frustrated’. I think we had to look onto the second half, what was working and what England might do to repel that. And also what we needed to do to be more effective. So you learn during that first half period.

“There were a couple of occasions when we went wide, we did well and that led to tries, but at times you have to narrow up the defence and aim to get something when you get into the 22, so that was a focus for us.

“We were expecting England to have more possession in the second half and bring their game into play, so we knew there would be momentum swings. I don't think any of the players were frustrated during that half-time about not being further ahead.

“We felt confident as a coaching group that we were going to get a very good performance out of the players today. And it probably surpasses, performance-wise, what we've done here the last two or three years [times].

“Normally when you have that amount of pressure on occasions to score points, you get more on the board. So that's a work on, but three tries to one and the way that on two occasions we came back to potentially win the game. One, obviously with a try, but even at the end, I'm so proud of the group for that effort and that skill at the end of a game. They did all they could to retain the cup, but it was probably down to England's defence and also them kicking their penalties when they got them the second half.”

Scotland were by far the better team with the ball in hand but just couldn’t finish off so many good chances, particularly in the first half. It all conspired for a sickening evening for the visitors in London.

“I think it's probably tougher for the players because to play well you have to put huge effort in and they did that. And to be at the end of a game knowing they came so close in the effort. I've been in that changing room before and it is very tough. But from a coaching perspective, we asked them to deliver on the effort, the execution and they did that today.

“We were very close to getting a historic win and whether it was a kick or another decision at the end of the game, we're all going forward. We'd be talking about a brilliant win. We're not. And that's credit to England for staying out in front at the end.

“I thought Jamie (Ritchie) had one of his best ever games for Scotland. I think Jack does so much for us carrying wise and he's obviously still playing back into full fitness. We were always going to bring Matt on early for what he can bring and I thought he had a really good impact. And Rory was fantastic. He's been an excellent leader over this campaign. He got a bang on the shoulder but he played 80 minutes. So yes, I'm really pleased with the pack's performance and the backs. The back row were very good today.”

Townsend also fielded questions on the opening England try, which appeared to be held up, and if he would consider replacing Finn Russell as goal kicker after three misses from the tee today. He also provided an injury update post match.

On England’s try, he said: “ I didn't really look at it, I heard the [other] coaches say it wasn't grounded, but I was on to the next thing which was a kick-off.” On replacing Russell as kicker, he added: “ I don't think so. Finn was and is an outstanding goal kicker. He was last season, and they were tough kicks.”

Finally, on the injury front, the Scotland head coach said: “Huw Jones just had his Achilles tightening up so that was a decision to bring him off. Any other decisions were tactical. Rory (Sutherland) is hoping to be available for Wales but it was a back spasm on Wednesday that hasn't got better. So we'll make sure we get a scan just to rule out any disc issues. I thought Jamie did well when he came on. So we know we've got experience in that area. Nathan McBeth came down yesterday and was added to our squad so we've got good cover at loose head if Rory did miss out against Wales.”