The result was as expected, but Scotland confirmed their recent advance, pinning the opposition back in defence for long periods.
Simon Middleton had asked his troops to maintain the highest intensity all through. They didn’t manage it, but still chalked up nine tries, some of them of the highest quality.
In a breathless opening spell the Red Roses dropped the ball three times, but their speed of thought and movement showed their intent.
When Rosie Galligan was caught offside, Helen Nelson couldn’t provide the three points. Instead, when Scotland infringed in defence, Leanne Infante tapped, off-loaded and Marlie Packer finished the job.
Five minutes later another lightning fast move saw Poppy Cleall claim the second try. Emily Scarratt, making a welcome return after nearly a year’s injury break, popped both kicks over.
Now the Scots had their best moments of the game; a dazzling move, quite worthy of the opposition, led to a try for Chloe Rollie (her fourteenth) as fast hands ensured England couldn’t match numbers in defence. Nelson, who didn’t have her securest game with her kicking, hooked the conversion.
This was one of the few moments when the hosts got behind the visitors’ first line of defence. This happened all too rarely. Against lesser opposition though you sense they could achieve far more penetration.
Between there and the interval England put the game to bed. Piqued by the quality of that Scottish score they turned up the heat – and it was about 100 degrees warmer than their last visit to the Scottish capital.
On the end of a long attack Helena Rowland off-loaded in a double tackle to Heather Cowell who had her second test try.
Time for an Abby Dow demo: quick hands, the last pair belonging to Scarratt, gave her a millimetre of space on the left; she brushed off a challenge and set off, veering to right and left as opponents approached. Does she deal exclusively in specials?
Packer had her second try from a more workaday source, the rolling maul. Just before the break Sarah Bern made her traditional break through heavy traffic and off-loaded finely for Infante to complete a – mostly – satisfactory 40 minutes.
Half-time: Scotland 5 England 38
After the break the Scots again showed their determination, claiming a large share of possession. They looked to have scored a second try straight from a line-out, the TMO and Neville finally agreed the first touch was forward by a Scottish hand, not an English defender.
Apart from that golden chance they had difficulty getting behind the English defensive line with the ball still in firm control. But they could take huge credit for causing a string of penalties. Trouble was, none of them led to a score; a follow-up line-out would be lost, or a pass would finish up on bootlaces.
They paid the price for more lost possession; Poppy Cleall made a huge advance, then as Joy Neville played advantage, Rowland lifted a wicked punt high behind the posts for Holly Aitchison to gather and score.
On 61 minutes the last four benchers came on for England, and almost immediately Connie Powell repeated her exploits against the USA by scoring on the end of a ferocious drive. With Scaz off the field, Rowland converted.
It’s significant that England’s ninth and last try, a hat-trick for the great Packer, came 17 minutes from time. For the last period Scotland pressed hard, showing they lacked nothing in stamina and determination.
Some of the new faces showed up well. Shona Campbell, one of the Scottish Sevens starlets, made an excellent impression on the left wing. Emma Sing likewise made some telling interventions from the back, but had the misfortune to drop a likely pass.
Though this was another half-century conceded by the hosts, they can look forward with confidence to future battles. After all, the world champions shipped 53 points against the white shirts.
Result: Scotland 5 England 57
Player of the Match: Marlie Packer
Attendance: 3998
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Rollie, 14 Lloyd, 13 H. Smith, 12 Thomson, 11 Gaffney, 10 Nelson, 9 Maxwell; 1 Bartlett, 2 Skeldon, 3 Belisle, 4 Wassell, 5 McMillan, 6 Malcolm (captain), 7 McLachlan 8 Konkel
Bench: 16 Wright, 17 Cockburn, 18 Dougan, 19 O’Donnell, 20 Donaldson, 21 Law, 22 M Smith 23 Campbell
England: 15 Kildunne, 14 Cowell, 13 Scarratt, 12 Aitchison, 11 Dow, 10 Rowland, 9 Infante, 1 Muir, 2 Davies, 3 Bern, 4 Galligan, 5 Ward, 6 P. Cleall, 7 M Packer, 8 Hunter (captain)
Bench: 16 Powell, 17 Cornborough, 18 B. Cleall, 19 Beckett, 20 Matthews, 21 L. Packer, 22 Reed, 23 Sing
Afterthoughts
It was good to see Joy Neville back in harness after her maternity leave
The DAM Health Stadium used to be the back pitches of Murrayfield, till somebody came up with a better idea.
