Quite a weekend. It started with the Under-20s match on Friday night at a freezing Hive stadium. England got into an early lead thanks to power and pace – sound familiar? Well clear at half-time before Scotland mounted a spirited fightback, both sides cutting our errors, that brought the local crowd into action before England ran out comfortable winners at 17-30.
The main event was the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield, ko 16:45. Crowds arrived from early on to enjoy the earlier match, cans of beer at £5.70 and uncharacteristic optimism from the locals.
Much has been written, said, analysed and debated.
Here are my 4 takeaways.
- History was not on England’s side
2. Performance vs Outcome
Leaders (on and off the field) set the tone and manage expectations. Compare Gatland, Townsend and Farrell with Borthwick and his extended team and it’s obvious that some level of change is required to personnel and strategy.
3. There is a new Van the Man in town
4. The Calcutta Cup makes for a great weekend!
Can’t wait for next year!