"England arrived at Murrayfield announcing their intentions to be bulletproof. Truth be told this was Scotland shooting fish in a barrel. Punishing mistakes, of which there were a litany, Gregor Townsend's team exposed the glaring limitations of Steve Borthwick's side that will be desperately difficult to recover from. Defeats happen, England's winning run was always going to end sooner or later, but the paucity of this performance is some setback for a side whose grand slam hopes are over for another year."
"The mistakes were calamitous, from Henry Arundell's two yellow cards to George Ford's charged down drop-goal attempt via Ellis Genge fluffing his lines. Ill-discipline plagued them throughout; the kicking game upon which they rely so heavily was not reaping any rewards yet still they persevered; the absence of a second playmaker denied England any fluidity; they missed 20 tackles in the first half alone; and their decision-making left much to be desired."
England arrived at Murrayfield intending to be 'bulletproof' but were overwhelmed by Scotland's ruthless exploitation of repeated errors. Calamitous mistakes included Henry Arundell's two yellow cards, George Ford's charged-down drop-goal attempt and Ellis Genge's handling errors. Systemic problems included persistent ill-discipline, an ineffective kicking game, the absence of a second playmaker, and poor decision-making. England missed 20 tackles in the first half and failed to convert scrum dominance into points when they opted to kick for goal rather than press an advantage. The performance ended England's winning run and dashed grand-slam aspirations for the season.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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