Eddie Jones questioned whether Scotland could handle the "weight of expectation" and they provided the sweetest of answers by ending a 38-year wait for a win at Twickenham.
Time and again Scotland had failed to beat their fierce rivals in their own backyard, but that elusive victory finally came as they regained the Calcutta Cup on a wet Saturday evening in London.
Gregor Townsend's side dominated the Six Nations champions on the opening day of the tournament, winning 11-6 to leave England head coach Jones with a face like thunder.
Jones will be asking why his ill-disciplined side started the defence of their title with such a flat, insipid performance in a game that marked the 150th anniversary of rugby's oldest fixture
Scotland had produced a sensational fightback to draw 38-38 at the same venue two years ago, before being denied an astonishing victory late on.
They never looked like suffering more heartbreak on this occasion, Stuart Hogg leading by example as they won at the famous stadium for the first time since 1983 to leave England shellshocked.
Scotland certainly did not resemble a team who might be feeling the pressure as they bossed the game from start to finish.
The Red Rose, starting the tournament with a depleted pack, were guilty of indiscipline time and again, with referee Andrew Brace losing patience when he sent Billy Vunipola to the sin bin.
Finn Russell deservedly put Scotland in front with a penalty early on and almost set up a try for Duhan van der Merwe with a clever kick, but the leaping wing was unable to grab a high bouncing ball and touch down.
Van der Merwe was not to be denied soon after, fending off Mark Wilson's tackle to put Scotland 8-0 up on the half-hour mark, but Scotland suffered a blow when Russell was yellow-carded just before the break for tripping Ben Youngs.
The boot of Farrell reduced the deficit to two points at the interval, with Scotland surely heading to the dressing room thinking they should have been further ahead after being frustrated by resolute England defending.
Russell returned with Scotland still leading and they continued to boss possession, managing the game superbly, and the fly-half's second penalty put them 11-6 up before he missed another shot at goal.
A furious Jones marched from the stands to the touchline to try and turn the tide, replacing Jamie George and Youngs with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Dan Robson before the hour-mark.
The excellent Hogg kept them on the back foot with a sublime, mammoth kick into the corner - not for the first time - and England were warned over their penalty count again, but more desperate defence denied Scotland a second try as they continue to hammer at the door.
Lacklustre England's day was summed up when Jonny May knocked on under no pressure in the closing stages.
Hogg said Scotland felt ready to "create a little bit of history" and start a "new chapter" this weekend and, as they finally celebrated on the Twickenham turf, it was evident the Red Rose had failed to live up to expectations.
England to face Portugal in Milton Keynes ahead of Women’s World Cup
England will face Portugal on July 1 in their final home warm-up match before flying to Australia for the Women’s World Cup.
Sarina Wiegman’s side are due to leave for the tournament four days after the meeting with their fellow finalists in Milton Keynes, with the game to kick-off at 3:15pm and be broadcast live on ITV.
Their opening game of the competition, which is being hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand, is against Haiti in Brisbane on 22 July, before the team fly to Sydney to face Denmark then finish the group stage against China in Adelaide.
Wiegman finalised her squad for the World Cup, which England are looking to win for the first time following their Euro 2022 triumph last summer, in May with Arsenal’s Beth Mead a notable absence through injury.
Portugal are competing for the first time in the World Cup and are building on their first major tournament appearances at the last two editions of the European Championships.
Canada will be England’s final warm-up opponents in a behind-closed-doors friendly on July 14.
“I am really pleased to have a competitive game for our last home fixture,” said Wiegman. “We had two big games in April against Brazil and Australia where we learned so much.
“This will be another challenging match against a team that have performed well and are going to their first World Cup.
“Portugal will also want to show they can be a threat to teams in Australia, and they have very technical players with good ability. For us, it will be important to come together again as a team after the end of the club season and feel the support of our fans.
“We will do our best to give them a good performance. It will only be three weeks until our opening World Cup game so it will be such an important moment in our preparation.”
The Football Association and Women’s Super League clubs had been in a dispute over the release date for players called up to the squad.
The FIFA-sanctioned date by which clubs must make players available is July 10, just 10 days before the tournament kicks off.
It was reported last week that the FA had planned for the squad to meet up on June 19, though a formal agreement between parties took time to reach.
That date has now been confirmed by the FA, which said in a statement: “We are grateful for the mutual understanding of the clubs, as we have collectively worked towards a solution with the wellbeing of players at the heart.”
England beat Portugal the last time the sides met competitively, Toni Duggan and Nikita Parris scoring the goals in a 2-1 win for the Lionesses in the Euro 2017 group stage.
Cory Hill withdraws from Wales World Cup squad to pursue club offer
Cory Hill has become the latest player to withdraw from Wales’ preliminary World Cup training squad.
The former Cardiff and Dragons lock, who had been playing in Japan, was recalled by Wales head coach Warren Gatland following two years out of Test rugby.
But 31-year-old Hill has pulled out of the squad to pursue a club contract opportunity outside of Wales, the Welsh Rugby Union said.
“I am gutted to be leaving the squad, but an opportunity has come up and I need to take it for my family,” Hill said.
“Wishing the boys all the best at the World Cup, and I hope to be back in a Wales jersey in the future.”
Gatland named a 54-man group last month for the tournament in France later this year.
Lock Alun Wyn Jones, flanker Justin Tipuric and scrum-half Rhys Webb, who have 291 Wales caps between them, subsequently announced their retirements from international rugby.
And Cardiff prop Rhys Carre was then released from the squad after he failed to meet individual performance targets.
The PA news agency understands that Gatland has no plans to call up a replacement for Hill, whose new club want him available for them during the World Cup period in September and October.
Hill made his Wales debut against Australia in 2016, while a 32nd and latest appearance came during the 2021 Six Nations against France.
Gatland’s remaining second-row options in his squad are Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Dafydd Jenkins, Ben Carter, Rhys Davies, Teddy Williams and Christ Tshiunza.
Ben Stokes pledges England will play with no fear against Australia
England captain Ben Stokes has told his team-mates to enter the Ashes without fear.
England host their old rivals this summer, with the first Test getting under way at Edgbaston on June 16, having won just one of the last five series against Australia.
Stokes has led his team to victory in 11 of his 13 Tests since he was installed as permanent skipper at the start of last summer.
He and coach Brendon McCullum have overseen a change of approach in preparation for an attempt to regain the Ashes urn for the first time since 2015, following their 4-1 drubbing Down Under in 2021/22.
“It’s not like any other series,” Stokes wrote for the Players’ Tribune.
“There’s the pressure, the hype and the extra noise that comes with it, but we’re ready for all that this summer.
“We’ve had some good results in the last year and the mindset in the group is so strong. Everyone is fully committed to what we’re doing.
“We know how good we are and that on our good days we can beat anyone on their good days.”
Stokes, 32, who hit an unbeaten 135 as England battled back to chase down 359 and beat Australia in a memorable meeting at Headingley in 2019, wants the team to go into the latest series unburdened by any pressure.
“I promise you: We’re going to play without fear,” he added.
“We want to create an environment where everyone has the freedom to try things without fear. I know it hasn’t always been that way, even though we’ve always had the ability.
“Hold nothing back. Express yourself. Show us what you can really do.
“And you know what? If you fail, then you fail. So what? As captain, I’m not going to be chewing people out in press conferences or in the media for trying to play a big shot.
“And behind the scenes, you’re not gonna get a slap on the wrist from me or Brendon McCullum about it.
“I don’t want this to be taken out of context. Just because I say it’s alright to fail, it doesn’t mean I’m fine with losing. I hate losing.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
