New coach, same outcome. Scotland had England's measure again on the opening weekend of the Six Nations as Steve Borthwick's debut as Red Rose boss ended in a 29-23 defeat at Twickenham, where Duhan van der Merwe put on a masterclass.
Borthwick, who took over from the sacked Eddie Jones in December, saw England suffer a fourth successive opening-weekend defeat in the championship, with the last three of those having come at the hands of Gregor Townsend's Scots.
This was a rip-roaring battle from the early stages. Scotland snatched a 15th-minute lead after a smart lineout move set up the chance near the England line. Huw Jones was halted, but Scotland got the ball moving again, with Sione Tuipulotu playing a clever kick through for Jones to dot down.
England banked their first try of the Borthwick era in the 24th minute when Max Malins dropped on a smart kick to the right corner by Marcus Smith.
Then came a glorious moment of skill from Van der Merwe, who ran from inside his own half and through the heart of England's team, dancing past one white shirt after another before scoring to the left of the posts. Pure magic on the big stage.
With Owen Farrell and Finn Russell missing consecutive conversions, Scotland's lead stood at 12-5, but that was trimmed when Malins dashed in for his second try, taking on a pass from Lewis Ludlam.
Farrell squandered another eminently kickable conversion chance, but he could hardly miss when England were awarded a penalty in front of the posts before the break, making no mistake to give the hosts a 13-12 interval lead.
Ellis Genge was England's close-range finisher after pressure was applied to the Scotland line early in the second half, with Farrell booting the extras; however, the Scots hit back in the 51st minute through Ben White, and Russell's kick made it a one-point game again.
Kyle Steyn dropped a high pass from Stuart Hogg as the Scots chased what would have been their fourth try, before Farrell and Russell exchanged penalties.
The Scots inside England's home roared as Van der Merwe gave Scotland the lead in the 74th minute, surging over in the left corner, ensuring his earlier heroics had not come in a losing cause. Russell added the extras, and this time England were done.
Super Scots rock Twickenham
Scotland have now won five of their last seven Six Nations openers, with Townsend's team losing only one of their last six Calcutta Cup games. They have beaten England three times in a row in the competition for the first time since a 1970-72 run of success. It turned into Van der Merwe's day, but team-mate Jones has now scored five tries in five Six Nations games against England. Only former England flyer Jason Robinson has managed more in this fixture, bagging six tries.
Van der Merwe try one for the ages
These teams met behind closed doors at Twickenham two years ago, with Scotland grabbing an 11-6 win and Van der Merwe scoring the game's only try. His sensational first try here would have been wasted on an empty stadium, with former Scotland captain John Barclay telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "That will go down as one of the best all-time individual tries."
What's next?
Scotland will look to build on this next week when they host a Wales side who were crushed by Ireland in their opener. England should net Borthwick a first win next weekend when Italy visit London, but the Azzurri beat Australia in November so cannot be underestimated.
Wallabies will get things right before Lions tour, promises Rugby Australia chief
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh is confident the Wallabies will be ready to compete with the British and Irish Lions next year, despite suffering the heaviest defeat in their Test history last time out.
Australia were crushed 67-27 by Argentina in the Rugby Championship last time out, their third defeat in four games in this year's tournament.
They were also dumped out of last year's Rugby World Cup in the pool stage following losses to Fiji and Wales, and they are down to ninth in the World Rugby Rankings.
The British and Irish Lions will face Australia in three Tests when they tour down under between June and August next year, with many fearing Joe Schmidt's team will be blown away.
Waugh, however, says there is plenty of time for the Wallabies to get things right before then, telling the Sydney Morning Herald: "You can see the progress is there.
"It is not nearly where we need it to be, but if we keep progressing at the speed with which we have moved things in the last six months, then there is plenty of time.
"It is a team that is, and I hate using the word 're-building', but it is a team that is re-setting, and it takes experience in big moments to get better.
"Obviously, the enormity of the scoreline in that second half was disappointing.
"But there is context that is important... we are not the most experienced team in world rugby, and we are building that experience."
Australia conclude their Rugby Championship campaign with two fixtures against New Zealand before the end of September, then face England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in their Autumn International Tests in November.
Salt laments 'everything was good apart from the result'
England's stand-in captain Phil Salt took plenty of positives from Wednesday's defeat to Australia, claiming "everything was good bar the result".
Travis Head's superb knock of 59 from just 23 balls, which included plundering 30 from a single over, set Australia on their way.
England fought back with the ball, though, and were ultimately set a target of 180.
But big hitters Salt (20), Sam Curran (18) and Liam Livingstone (37) all went in quick succession as England failed to get going and lost by 28 runs.
"Everything was good apart from the result," said Salt, who was standing in for the absent Jos Buttler.
"They played well. Heady came out swinging in the powerplay and gave them a head start.
"We were a couple of wickets too far down. Heady's done that for a couple of years, it's about how do we shut that down?
"[But] good signs. They played well, we dragged it back, we should have chased it realistically. At times we could have taken partnerships deeper. But we've had a good look at them now."
Australia have won back-to-back T20Is against England for the first time since February 2018, as the hosts failed to win a third straight T20I at The Rose Bowl.
"It was a nice start. Nice to get under way," said Head.
"To set a platform like that with the hitters we had behind us, it was nice to do the job."
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh added: "We certainly looked on course for 200 but did our best to stuff it up, so it's nice to start the series with a win."
Head leads Australia to win as new-look England crumble in chase
Travis Head led the way for Australia, setting them on their way to a comfortable 28-run victory over England in their first of three T20Is on Wednesday.
England had salvaged some pride during Australia's late collapse, only to fumble their chance with the bat as they failed to reach their target of 180.
Australia got off to a flying start, with Head hitting 59 off 23 balls, including 30 off Sam Curran in a single over with three fours and three sixes.
Liam Livingstone helped to slow the tide with 3-22, including taking opener Matt Short (41), before the tourists collapsed, losing their last five wickets for 14 runs, with Jofra Archer taking two in two (2-31), to finish 179 all out.
The hosts just could not get going though, as Phil Salt was caught for 20 before Curran (18) and Livingstone (37) both departed in the space of four deliveries to stunt any England progress.
Jordan Cox (17), one of three debutants, had already been dismissed, thanks to Tim David's stunning catch at full stretch, before the lower order slumped to 151 in the final over.
The second T20I takes place on Friday in Cardiff, where England will attempt to force a decider for the final contest on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Unhappy homecoming
Australia have won back-to-back T20Is against England for the first time since February 2018, but the hosts would have expected much better when they saw the target set for them.
Instead, they failed to win a third consecutive T20 match at The Rose Bowl, their longest outright losing streak at the venue in the history of the format.
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