Scotland may be smarting from the injustice of their defeat by France but Ben Earl insists England also have a point to prove in their Calcutta Cup clash.

Replays suggested Scotland had scored a legitimate stoppage-time try at Murrayfield on Saturday but as they failed to show clear grounding, protocol dictated it should not stand and Les Bleus escaped with a 20-16 win.

The decision prevented them from entering round three of the Guinness Six Nations with an unbeaten record to match that of Steve Borthwick’s team, who crept past Italy and Wales to stay in Grand Slam contention.

What was previously a comfortable Six Nations fixture for England has since been turned on its head by losing the three most recent meetings – and Earl wants to see that addressed in Edinburgh on February 24.

“Scotland are a very proud rugby nation, they’ve got some great players, some great individuals,” Earl said.

“We’ve never had an easy game against them and last time we played them at Twickenham, the first game of last year, we lost.

“We’ve got to right some wrongs and so we’re really looking forward to going up there.”

England’s underwhelming performances in the opening two rounds have hardly set the tournament alight, but in coming from behind to dispatch Italy and Wales they are continuing to show a knack for digging themselves out of trouble.

After a 31-point lead had been thrown away against Scotland in 2019, Borthwick’s predecessor Eddie Jones compared the team’s response to pressure to “hand grenades in the back of a jeep” that “go off”.

But in the World Cup warm-up game against Wales at Twickenham in August, and at the tournament itself, they have displayed the ability to roll with the punches – and come back firing.

“We feel we’ve got a good game to fall back on when things are tight. We can squeeze games out and find a way to win. We know we can win from almost any position,” Earl said.

“When our backs were against the wall against Wales, we got together and said ‘look, it feels like we’re not getting the rub of the green here from the ref and/or the context of the game, so we need to almost bunker down or come out swinging in a way’.

“Other England teams in previous regimes, we might have gone into our shells and reverted to an individual focus, but we were collected and aligned in our messaging and in our next actions, so we were really pleased.

“The Italy game was a step in the right direction and Wales was another step in the right direction, so who knows where we can take it.”

England’s growing resilience has coincided with Earl’s rise to starting number eight and the marauding Saracen, who broke four tackles to cross against Wales, is revelling in the independence he has been given by attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.

“Richard has been really clear with me in terms of giving me a bit of a free role in terms of where I pop up,” Earl said.

“Against Italy I carried a bit more off nine than I did against Wales. But in terms of where I’m at, I’m loving playing for this team.”

Harry Paterson admitted he could never have imagined starting a Guinness Six Nations match for Scotland just months after wondering how he was going to get a game in Edinburgh’s high-calibre back three.

The 22-year-old began the season competing with established internationals like Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Duhan van der Merwe and Emiliano Boffelli for a place at club level.

The departure of Kinghorn to Toulouse and injuries to others, however, allowed him to make three starts for Edinburgh in December and he was subsequently named in Gregor Townsend’s squad for the Six Nations.

Incredibly, with just eight senior appearances to his name in total, Paterson was summoned to start Saturday’s showdown with France on the morning of the game after Kyle Steyn’s wife went into labour, further reducing the Scots’ back-three options after injuries to key duo Kinghorn and Graham.

Paterson responded by producing what head coach Townsend described as “one of the the best debuts I’ve ever seen” as Scotland went down to a controversial 20-16 defeat by Les Bleus.

“It certainly was beyond my pre-season expectations,” said Paterson. “Especially with the senior boys in the back three at Edinburgh, it’s unbelievable.

“In November, I was thinking ‘I’m not really getting a look with Edinburgh’, but things can change very quickly and a few guys got injured so I was kind of given an opportunity through that.

“I’ll take a lot of confidence from it. I’ve not played a lot of professional rugby so I need to build up that base of games, stay fit and crack on.”

Paterson was not named in the initial 23-man squad for the France match and only learned at 9am – five hours before kick-off – that he would be starting at full-back.

“I got a call from Gregor when I was having my breakfast and I kind of figured what was happening when I saw who was calling,” he said. “There was about 10 minutes of panic and then I stabilised and cooled down. There was a bit of nerves obviously, but I was really excited.

“Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh and Scotland team-mate) told me beforehand ‘it’s just another game of rugby but it’s also your first cap so make sure you enjoy it’.

“I was alright once I was out there. I got minced off the first ball I caught so that got me into the game. I just kind of went for it.

“I’ve been told I overthink a lot, but when it comes to game time I manage to chill out a bit and not stress as much.”

Paterson had mixed feelings at the end of a debut in which Scotland were controversially denied what would have been a match-winning try when the officials were unable to decide beyond all doubt that Sam Skinner had managed to ground the ball.

“I was a confused boy at the end of the game,” he said. “I didn’t really know how to feel at the end. I was just gutted at the result.”

While Steyn is likely to come back into the mix for the next game at home to England a week on Saturday, it remains to be seen if Graham or Kinghorn – both of whom were initially ruled out of the first two matches of the championship – will be fit enough to return.

Asked if he felt he had played his way into contention for the Calcutta Cup showdown, Paterson said: “I’m not sure. I don’t know who is available. There’s a lot of moving parts so I’m not really sure what will happen there.”

Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley is taking the challenge of filling Johnny Sexton’s shoes in his stride and “could go far”, according to team-mate James Lowe.

Test rookie Crowley marked his maiden Guinness Six Nations appearance in Dublin with the first senior try of his career to set the defending champions on course for a crushing 36-0 win over Italy.

The 24-year-old, who has never touched down in 45 provincial outings for Munster, was elevated to first-choice number 10 after long-serving talisman Sexton retired following the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Leinster wing Lowe also starred on Sunday afternoon – claiming the fifth of Ireland’s six tries before being named man of the match – and has been impressed with Crowley’s early impact.

“He’s got a lot of pressure on him, there have been some world-class 10s come before him,” he said.

“He’s taken it in his stride, bossing it around week to week.

“He hasn’t quite got that Sexton aura about him. He hasn’t got the stare down yet. He’s awesome, he growing into it.

“He slotted into 15 (after full-back Hugo Keenan was injured) as well, fair play to him, he’s a young man with a good head on his shoulders and he could go far.”

Crowley, who has 11 caps, made his full championship debut in Ireland’s statement 38-17 round-one win in France.

For the second successive week, he shrugged off some nervy kicks to produce an assured performance.

Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey – one of six players brought into Andy Farrell’s starting XV following success in Marseille – echoed Lowe’s praise of Crowley.

“He’s good, isn’t he? He’s went really well the last couple of games,” said McCloskey.

“He’s obviously still learning, he’s a young guy but some of his touches, the way he takes the ball to the line, the way he offloads is something slightly different to what Johnny brought – not that Johnny wasn’t incredible, but it’s a slightly different way of playing.

“Obviously he’s had a couple of mistakes in there and bits and pieces to work on, but you’re going to get that with someone who is 24 years old.

“I thought he was very good and very good last week as well.”

Dan Sheehan’s double and further scores from Jack Conan and Calvin Nash ensured Ireland go into a fallow weekend at the top of the table with maximum points.

Farrell’s side host Wales on February 24 before taking on England and Scotland next month.

“We’d a fair few changes this week and boys who came into the group really put their hands up and showed why they are internationals,” added Lowe.

“We are happy with where we are sitting, it’s a pretty good position to be in.”

Singing sensation Stevie Mulrooney was praised by Andy Farrell following his rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call ahead of Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations match with Italy in Dublin.

Eight-year-old Mulrooney went viral thanks to a passionate performance on the pitch in front of almost 52,000 spectators at a sold-out Aviva Stadium.

The schoolboy from Kilkenny sprang to prominence singing the rugby anthem on RTE’s Late Late Toy Show, before being invited to perform at Ireland’s opening home match of the championship by flanker Josh van der Flier.

He had to wait for his moment in the spotlight as Jennifer Dalton performed the Italian anthem and Amhran na bhFiann before stealing the show to catch the eye of Ireland boss Farrell and thousands of television viewers.

“Oh wow. I tell you, I was actually saying before the game, I was just watching him the whole time,” said Farrell, whose side won 36-0.

“I didn’t know whether he was standing with his mother or not but when I realised the other lady (Dalton) was not his mother and was singing the national anthem for the Italians… his confidence was amazing and I actually thought ‘I wish our lads are going to be like that’.

“He’s got his shoulders back, he was ready.

“He was waving to the crowd, stood there on his own. I thought: ‘this kid’s got it all’.

“He was amazing. He nailed it, didn’t he? It was a great start.”

Andy Farrell warned Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations title defence “gets tougher from here” after his side swatted aside Italy.

The reigning champions registered a thumping 36-0 bonus-point win to back up last week’s statement success away to pre-tournament favourites France.

Winless Wales visit Dublin on February 24 before Ireland finish their campaign with March appointments against England and Scotland.

Head coach Farrell feels his team have made a “decent start” to the championship as they seek to make history by claiming back-to-back Grand Slams.

“Obviously delighted with two from two and maximum points, 36-0 is a nice scoreline for us,” he said.

“To put in a performance like that where I thought we were clinical at times, I thought our set piece was excellent, top drawer, and then scoring some nice tries on the back of all that type of pressure was very pleasing to get over the line.

“Two from two. It’s a decent start. It gets tougher from here on in.”

Jack Crowley’s first senior try set Ireland on course for victory before Dan Sheehan’s double and scores from Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash completed a routine success.

The one-sided result was the first time Ireland had nilled a team in the championship since a 17-0 triumph over England in the 1987 Five Nations.

Stand-in captain Caelan Doris, who deputised for the injured Peter O’Mahony, said: “Keeping them to zero was definitely very pleasing given the quality of their attack.

“It was something we talked about during the week, they’ve a lot of structure in their attack and they’ve got threats throughout.

“I don’t think it’s a mean feat keeping them to zero and we’re happy with that, definitely.”

Farrell made six personnel changes for Sunday afternoon’s contest, which took place in front of a subdued capacity crowd.

The Englishman expects to have sidelined quartet O’Mahony, Tadhg Furlong, Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose back in training before facing Warren Gatland’s men but is waiting to discover the extent of an injury suffered by full-back Hugo Keenan.

“Hugo’s got a bang on his knee so I don’t know,” said Farrell.

“He seems in good spirits but you saw him and he was limping so we’ll see how he turns up tomorrow morning (Monday) whether he needs someone to have a look at that or not.

“I don’t know at this stage.”

Italy arrived at the Aviva Stadium on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England but rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Azzurri head coach Gonzalo Quesada said: “They didn’t need to do anything special, just run through their system, their attack.

“When they go those 19 points of difference (in front), it’s like the All Blacks some years ago, they just go through their basics and they had 100 per cent of the lineout, 100 per cent of the scrum, 100 per cent of the high balls.

“And then they just work their rucks in attack and defence with extreme efficiency.

“We expected that level of performance. They did what we know they can do.

“The frustration is more that we couldn’t put a bit more pressure on them like we wanted.”

France, England and Ireland were the winners in round two of the Guinness Six Nations, which failed to produce the excitement seen on the opening weekend.

Here the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

World Rugby recently released an absorbing documentary titled ‘Whistleblowers’ in the hope it will change the conversation around officials by showing the difficulties they face, both personal and professional, in overseeing one of the most complex sports around. But as criticism descended on Nic Berry and James Doleman following controversial calls at Murrayfield and Twickenham respectively, it is clear the odds are stacked against referees because of the laws. The decision not to award Scotland a last-gap try against France and to allow Wales to run down George Ford’s conversion were legitimate according to the rules of the game, but both felt like the wrong call. Clarification shed light on why the right outcomes had been reached, but by that time the online vilification was already underway.

Rugby’s officialdom was at least able to celebrate one notable victory from round two and that was Hollie Davidson’s slice of history at Twickenham. The 31-year-old Scot became the first female member of an officiating team for a men’s Six Nations match as the glass ceiling for women in the sport continues to be broken. Now rugby’s pre-eminent female referee, Davidson has already overseen a men’s international having taken charge of a clash between Portugal and Italy in 2022. A Test between heavyweight nations must be the next goal for the Scottish Rugby Union’s first full-time official.

Even if rugby’s protocols dictate otherwise, Scotland’s stoppage-time try against France should have stood. Scottish dismay was understandable, but this controversial moment aside they can only look inwards when they begin the inquest into why they are not two from two having led for most of the match against opponents nursing a World Cup hangover. A poor spectacle was there for the taking but yet again a group of players regarded as one of the most talented ever to emerge from the country has fallen short. That first Six Nations title appears as elusive as ever.

England are one of two unbeaten sides left in the Six Nations and, while they deserve credit for equalling their victory total for the last three tournaments before the first fallow week, they know their underwhelming wins against Italy and Wales were too close for comfort. Far tougher tests await against Scotland, Ireland and France over the coming weeks and Steve Borthwick’s team must improve significantly if they are to remain in title contention deeper in the tournament. So far they have displayed resilience, a greater appetite to attack and defensive steel, but for now they remain a middling nation.

Only Ireland also remain in Grand Slam contention and, as they swatted aside Italy despite making six changes, it was hard to look beyond another clean sweep for Andy Farrell’s men. No side has managed back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era but such is the depth in Irish rugby and the fluency of their game that it would take a sizeable upset to prevent them writing their name in the history books. Italy, meanwhile, took a step backwards having troubled England in Rome.

Jack Crowley claimed an overdue first senior try as Ireland continued their Guinness Six Nations title defence with a resounding 36-0 bonus-point win over Italy in Dublin.

The fly-half, who is tasked with filling the void left by retired number 10 Johnny Sexton, has gone 45 appearances for Munster without touching down.

He opened his international account inside seven minutes of his 11th Test to help the reigning champions back up a crushing opening weekend demolition of pre-tournament favourites France.

Dan Sheehan registered two of Ireland’s five further tries to take his tournament tally to three, while Jack Conan, man of the match James Lowe and Calvin Nash were also on the scoresheet for a team captained by Caelan Doris.

Ireland’s display could certainly have been more ruthless but it was more than enough to dispatch the championship’s perennial wooden spoon winners and secure a 17th successive home win.

Andy Farrell’s men remain on course to become the first side to win back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams ahead of hosting Wales on February 24 and March appointments with England and Scotland.

Italy arrived at a sold-out Aviva Stadium as overwhelming underdogs and seeking a first championship success on Irish soil on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England.

Paolo Garbisi shanked an early penalty to give the Azzurri the lead, before Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey released provincial team-mate Crowley to gleefully register a landmark five points.

The seventh-minute score initially did little to settle the hosts amid a subdued Sunday afternoon atmosphere, which faded fast from eight-year-old Stevie Mulrooney performing a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call.

Farrell’s starting XV, showing six personnel changes from Marseille, initially looked disjointed as the contest descended into a scrappy affair.

Energetic bursts from Hugo Keenan momentarily lifted the crowd and led to a second score in the 24th minute, with Crowley, Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw ultimately combining to tee up Sheehan.

Blasts of Zombie by the Cranberries – the team’s World Cup anthem – greeted each Ireland try and rang out again three minutes before the break when Conan bulldozed across the line after Joe McCarthy was held up.

Ireland had the bonus point in the bag within five minutes of the restart as hooker Sheehan, who also crossed against Les Bleus, claimed his second try of the afternoon.

Centre Henshaw was perhaps harshly denied a score due to an adjudged double movement before grounding.

But Ireland, who saw full-back Keenan limp off with an apparent leg issue, would not be denied for long.

Impressive Leinster wing Lowe added further gloss to the scoreboard with a powerful 62nd-minute finish, shortly after Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello was sent to the sin bin for illegally stopping him by sticking out a leg.

Following Garbisi’s wayward penalty, outclassed Italy offered little attacking threat and rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Another fruitless trip to the Irish capital was compounded two minutes from time when Munster wing Nash collected Jamison Gibson-Park’s pass to score for the second week in a row, with replacement 10 Harry Byrne slotting the extras to add to two Crowley conversions.

George Ford insists goalkickers will be compelled to modify their routines after he was the victim of a controversial refereeing decision in England’s Guinness Six Nations victory over Wales on Saturday.

Ford was lining up the conversion of Ben Earl’s 20th-minute try and having taken a small step left as part of his pre-kick ritual, wing Rio Dyer came racing off the line to prevent him from completing it.

England’s fly-half looked to James Doleman to intervene in his favour, but the Kiwi referee instead told him that his movement meant Wales were free to charge down the kick.

World Rugby later clarified that the relevant law, updated in 2020, dictates that movement in “any direction” enables the defending side to begin their run.

Ford was left bemused by Doleman’s decision, which could have been decisive in an ebb-and-flow game that England won by only two points.

“It doesn’t make sense to me. I’m trying to use the full shot-clock time as we’ve got men in the (sin) bin,” Ford said, with Ollie Chessum and Ethan Roots both having been off the field at the time.

“You’re at the back of your stance, you have your routine, and if adjusting your feet like that is initiating your run-up then…

“Some of us kickers are going to have to stand like statues at the back of our run-up now.

“As a kicker you want to get a feel and sometimes you don’t quite feel right at the back of your run-up, so you adjust it a bit and think ‘right, I’ve got it now’. You want your chest to be at the ball and all those things.

“What it means for us kickers is that we’ve got to be ultra diligent with our setup and process because if they’re going to go down that route and look for stuff like that, we can’t afford that.”

Wales’ young team may have shown genuine promise for the future two rounds into the Guinness Six Nations but captain Dafydd Jenkins insists there is no sugar coating the results.

England ran out 16-14 winners at Twickenham on Saturday despite trailing 14-5 at half-time after a penalty try and Alex Mann’s touch down had placed Warren Gatland’s team in the driving seat.

The defeat came a week after Wales amassed 26 unanswered points having fallen 27-0 behind Scotland, which left Cardiff wondering how had they allowed one of the Championship’s great collapses.

A clash with champions Ireland in Dublin on February 24 is their next assignment and, while Jenkins is impressed by his side’s fighting spirit, he knows that ultimately they have come up short.

“It’s extremely disappointing, but I’m proud of the boys for sticking in it every time. But it’s international rugby and it’s all about winning. Two losses hurts a lot,” Jenkins said.

“It’s a special game, Wales against England. As you grow up you always want to be a part of it and get the win. Unfortunately we didn’t do that.”

Wales’ great frustration is that, having put themselves in a position to claim their first victory at Twickenham since 2015, they allowed the hosts to take control of the second-half through their kicking game.

Gatland believes a challenge lies in instilling into his overhauled side the belief they can get over the line even if the same players are rarely successful with their regions in the United Rugby Championship and Europe.

“Our focus is getting better from game to game and I think we’ve done that,” Gatland said.

“The boys are desperate to get a win and probably the challenge for us is just knowing how important winning is.

“A number of players are coming from regional teams that haven’t had a lot of success.

“They’ve probably got used to not having that ‘W’ next to their name after performances. So it’s important we start doing that and be positive about doing that.

“One of the great things about playing for Wales is, having spoken to a number of players, when they come into this environment, they come in with confidence believing they’re good enough to win. We’ve just got to keep building on that.”

England number eight Ben Earl was the official man of the match but that accolade could easily have gone to Wales openside Tommy Reffell, whose expertise on the ground is now being matched by growing influence in attack.

“We know how good Tommy is defensively but we want him to be comfortable getting the ball in his hands a little bit more,” Gatland said.

“He has come on as more of an option as a running threat. We saw that last weekend and again against England.

“I’m absolutely delighted for him because he’s starting to get a nice balance to his game and that can take him to the next level.

“He was outstanding against England and he just keeps going for 80 minutes.”

Fraser Dingwall insists England will move deeper into the Guinness Six Nations emboldened by the knowledge they can dig out wins if they they stick to the script.

England stride into the first fallow week after recording victories over Italy and Wales that keep them in title contention, albeit with the toughest assignments of the Championship still to come against Scotland, Ireland and France.

On both occasions they were forced to fight back from half-time deficits and while they prevailed by a combined total of only five points, amid the deficiencies Steve Borthwick’s new-look team have shown resilience and more ambition in attack.

Both wins were too close for comfort and Scotland will justifiably be confident of retaining the Calcutta Cup in a fortnight but Dingwall, who dived over for a crucial try at Twickenham on Saturday, insists belief is growing.

“This results against Wales will give us a massive boost because it shows that if we put on to the pitch what we want, then we can beat teams,” the Northampton centre said.

“In the first half we didn’t get the outcomes but we stuck at it, so we can go into each game with that intent to stick at what we want to do and knowing that if we do that, we’ll be OK.”

England made an impressive start to the round two match against Warren Gatland’s men but their entries into the 22 failed to produce any points and their prospects then deteriorated when Ollie Chessum and Ethan Roots were sent to the sin bin.

Wales seized control through a penalty try and a brilliantly constructed touchdown for Alex Mann – but with Ben Earl powering over from a scrum and then Dingwall crossing, the stage was set for George Ford to kick the match-winning penalty.

“We actually did a lot right in the first 10 minutes and then momentum swung against us and we didn’t really get anything,” Dingwall said.

“We put on the pitch what we wanted, we just didn’t get the outcomes and that’s what frustrated us.

“We stuck at how we wanted to play and then the rewards started to come our way and we were able to turn that into points.”

England’s kicking game directed by Ford was key to their comeback, as was Dingwall slipping over in the left corner in the 63rd minute for his first try in two outings in a Red Rose jersey.

“Essentially the forwards were battering the door down and created space, so we as backs just had to pick it off,” he said.

“I just managed to put myself on the edge. I kept Elliot Daly inside me knowing the ball would end up with me and I could hopefully get the score.

“It’s all bit of a blur but the emotions that ran through me after were crazy, everything came out of me.

“It’s unbelievable. These whole couple of weeks have been unbelievable. To get the win as a group and to score as well has been a whirlwind.”

England hope hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, centre Manu Tuilagi and second-row George Martin will be in contention to face Scotland at Murrayfield on February 24.

Finn Russell admitted Scotland should not have got themselves into a position for the officials to effectively decide the outcome of their dramatic Guinness Six Nations match against France.

Ben White’s try gave Scotland a seventh-minute lead and they felt they should have been more than 16-10 in front by the time the French – who had prop Uini Atonio sin-binned just before half-time – turned Saturday’s game in their favour in the closing 10 minutes.

Les Bleus – whose tries came from Gael Fickou and Louis Bielle-Biarrey – held on for a 20-16 victory but only after an astonishing finale in which Scotland were convinced substitute Sam Skinner had scored a match-winning try in the game’s last action.

Referee Nic Berry’s initial call was “no try” and after several minutes of deliberating with TMO Brian MacNeice amid incredible tension, it looked like they were about to award the score before eventually deciding the images were inconclusive.

The Scots were livid but co-captain Russell conceded the game should never have boiled down to that last-gasp flashpoint.

“Personally I believe it was a try at the end, but it’s up to the referee to decide that,” said the stand-off.

“We can’t let the referee decide what happens in a game, it’s up to us to play better and make these matches a victory.”

Although disappointed, Russell believes it was a sign of Scotland’s resilience that they almost dug out victory despite relinquishing their long-held lead in the closing stages.

“It was a bit of magic from France (for Bielle-Biarrey’s 70th-minute try), but I think the way we got back into the game and the way I believe that we scored, it shows the character we’ve got,” he said.

“We didn’t lose belief when we fell four points down with three minutes left. I’m proud of the boys for the performance but we need to take our learnings from it going into the England game.”

The Scots host their old rivals a week on Saturday knowing they will need a Calcutta Cup victory to hoist themselves back into championship contention.

“We’ll take it easy next week,” said Russell. “Some of the boys have got to train, some haven’t. We just need some time away from rugby. It’s an intense competition.

“We’ll take some time away and then come back to get ready for that England game. A massive challenge awaits us and we’ll need to be ready.”

One man who may have played his way into contention for the England showdown is 22-year-old Edinburgh back Harry Paterson, who produced an impressive debut after being summoned to start at full-back on the morning of the match when Kyle Steyn’s wife went into labour.

“It’s one of the best debuts I’ve ever seen,” said head coach Gregor Townsend. “Going up against that French backline on a wet day at Murrayfield, he was excellent.

“I gave him a heads-up that he could be playing about 9am then confirmed it at 10am.

“To play like that was fantastic and gives us a lot of encouragement about where Harry can go over these next few years.

“He knew he’d have a lot of kicks to field due to the way France play and with the weather being wet, but he just got stronger and stronger as the game went on.

“But Kyle Rowe deserves a mention as well. That was only his second Test start and, like Harry, I thought he was excellent.

“We are building depth in the back three.”

Jamie George insisted England are ready to take on the Guinness Six Nations’ big hitters after Wales were dispatched 16-14 at Twickenham.

England fell 14-5 behind but fought back through a Fraser Dingwall try and two George Ford penalties – the second the decisive kick in the 72nd minute – to make it two wins in as many matches.

Only Ireland also remain on course for the Grand Slam but the competition is about to get harder for Steve Borthwick’s men with Scotland next up in Edinburgh before closing with clashes against France and Andy Farrell’s defending champions.

“There is belief. We have got a good opportunity to rest up a bit in the fallow week and then focus on getting better because we know we are going to need to get better going up to Murrayfield,” George said.

“The foundations that we have laid have allowed us to believe in what we are doing and believe in the England way. We want to continue what we are doing and keep growing.”

When asked about facing Scotland, France and Ireland, George said: “I don’t think it is a huge leap.

“Obviously we have got three difficult games coming up but I don’t think we are in a place to say it needs to be a quantum leap to get a load better.

“We are two from two, we have done well and we know we have got a huge amount of growth left in the squad so our focus is on making sure we optimise that.”

England showed resilience to claw their way in front despite conceding the half-time penalty count 6-0 and seeing Ollie Chessum and Ethan Roots sent to the sin bin, the overlapping yellow cards reducing them to 13 players for five minutes.

“This is a team that stays in the fight and a team that finds a way. Were there improvements on Italy last weekend? Yes, I think there were,” head coach Borthwick said.

“The work we’re doing each day is paying dividends. But the biggest lesson here is the trait the players are developing in themselves, which is one that stays in the fight.

“I always sensed from the players there was a confidence to find the way to get the result.

“Prior to the World Cup we identified that England’s second-half performances had deteriorated since 2018. Last weekend and here we’ve seen it consistently improve.”

While England have built a 100 per cent record, Wales have headed in the opposite direction with losses to the Red Rose and Scotland by a combined total of just three points.

Had they shown more composure in the second half, they might have registered a first victory at Twickenham since 2015.

“It’s pretty disappointing really. I’m proud of the performance and the effort of the players out there, but we’re disappointed we didn’t come away with the win,” head coach Warren Gatland said.

“It’s part of the journey we’re on in terms of developing as a team. I said to the players we’re not there yet but we’re going to be a bloody good team going forward.

“And this was part of that process in terms of learning about game management. I’m really proud of the effort.

“We felt really good at half-time and didn’t feel under pressure. On a few occasions we didn’t get the rub of the green in the second half and that’s rugby.”

England’s ambition of making a fresh start on their return to Twickenham failed to produce the hoped for fireworks but they at least had the resilience to dig out a 16-14 victory over Wales.

For the first time in Guinness Six Nations history, Warren Gatland’s team led at the interval in their great rival’s stronghold after storming 14-5 ahead through a penalty try and Alex Mann touch down.

But the favourites hit back when Fraser Dingwall went over in the left corner before George Ford stepped up to land the decisive penalty in the 72nd minute, rewarding a more polished second half.

Having finished third at last autumn’s World Cup, England saw their first outing at Twickenham since rebuilding their team as an opportunity to reconnect with fans, but this scruffy afternoon was too close for comfort.

Championship history was made when Hollie Davidson became the first female member of an officiating team for a men’s match – and what the hosts would have given for her assured performance on the sideline.

Wales must come to terms with an eighth successive defeat at Twickenham dating back to 2015 and their inability to score a point in the second half, but despite the outcome there was enough on display to encourage Gatland.

From the moment Freddie Steward carved through the visiting defence in the opening seconds, it appeared as though Wales were in for a long afternoon.

Only timely intervention from Rio Dyer thwarted England in the right corner, Elliot Daly raced clear and a crash ball intended for Henry Slade close to the whitewash just failed to find its target as the the assault continued.

Yet for all the early dominance, points proved elusive and then the tide turned when Ollie Chessum was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle before a penalty try was awarded to Wales.

Ethan Roots was singled out by referee James Doleman for bringing down the maul and as a result was shown a yellow card, reducing England to 13 players for five minutes.

Remarkably, the hosts hit back immediately when Ben Earl powered over from the base of a scrum, breaking four tackles before touching down with an outstretched arm.

A dramatic opening quarter ended with George Ford failing to take the conversion when Wales chased down the kick, even though England’s fly-half had yet to start his run up.

Ford was bemused that Doleman found in the visitors’ favour and England then had to steel themselves for a lengthy period of defence, although there was a lack of cutting edge to really trouble them.

Daly and Slade kicked long to relieve the pressure on Steve Borthwick’s men, who were struggling to escape their half, but there was no stopping Wales when their attack clicked into gear on the cusp of half-time.

Josh Adams launched the move but the key moment came when the brilliant Tommy Reffell took an inside ball which he then slipped out of the tackle, allowing Tomos Williams to gather and send Alex Mann over.

England emerged for the second half with greater purpose and Daly almost went over in the left corner, but soon after Ford landed a penalty.

A defensive lapse by Daly waved Wales through and they almost scored, but successive scrum penalties settled the home team, with the second providing the platform to engineer their second try.

Once the forwards had weakened the red wall with carry after carry, the ball was swept left where an unmarked Dingwall was able to cross.

And the tide turned when Mason Grady was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on and up stepped Ford to kick England ahead for the first time, consigning Wales to defeat.

Gregor Townsend felt Scotland were robbed of victory over France as he expressed bewilderment that the officials failed to award them a try in the last action of a dramatic Murrayfield showdown.

Les Bleus claimed a 20-16 win in Edinburgh to get their Guinness Six Nations campaign up and running – but only after referee Nic Berry and TMO Brian MacNeice spent several minutes deliberating over whether home substitute Sam Skinner had grounded the ball on the try-line before deciding that it had been held up by the boot of French replacement Yoram Moefana.

Scotland’s supporters, players and staff – having seen pictures of the incident on the big screen – were convinced they were about to be awarded a match-winning try, and the officials were loudly booed by the home crowd when they stuck with the original call not to give the score.

“We were celebrating in the coaches’ box having seen the pictures of the ball being placed down on the tryline after having been on the player’s boot,” said head coach Townsend, visibly angered.

“That was also after hearing the communication to the referee from the TMO to say that the ball started on the foot and then went on the ground.

“The ref then says, ‘I can also see that (ball) on the ground’ then their last interaction was ‘hang on, let’s look at that other angle….yeah, it’s inconclusive now, stick with your on-field decision’.

“It was TMO-driven. If the referee is seeing the pictures we were all seeing in the stadium, maybe it’s on his shoulders as well to say, ‘that’s the ball down, that’s a try’. But the TMO was the one who changed his mind and said, ‘stick with your on-field decision.’

“I don’t understand the rationale. When you see the pictures, and when you also see the conversation, they have already said between them that the ball has been placed on the tryline.”

The Scots led for most of the match after taking a seventh-minute lead through Ben White.

France, who also scored a first-half try through Gael Fickou, managed to survive 10 minutes with 14 men after Uini Atonio was sin-binned just before the break and eventually got themselves ahead for the first time in the 70th minute through Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s try.

“I’m absolutely gutted for the players,” said Townsend. “The way the game was going in the second half, I didn’t think there would be any points scored at one stage – we were in control.

“But we did make an error that led to a scrum that led to a try. At the time, I thought it was going to be really difficult to score the required five points.

“It was then a fantastic effort to win the ball back, for Kyle Rowe to make his break and for Finn (Russell) to win the ball back and set us up on the tryline.

“The emotions straight after that when I saw the pictures were, ‘what a fantastic win, what a team to come back.

“To play so well, go behind and come back, what a great victory for our supporters, then it’s taken away from you.

“It’s sport, we know that, and we have to be better. That’s why you play and coach – to win but also to get better. We have to make sure we take winning and losing out of the hands of referees and TMOs.”

Asked if he felt the officials had done their jobs properly, Townsend said: “I’ll leave that to you guys to decide.

“All I can say is that we were celebrating a win, our players and a lot of our supporters were by the pictures we saw. We could hear the conversations.

“Gavin Hastings (former Scotland international) was in front of us, and the media were turning round a few times as well to ask, and I’m saying, ‘yeah, it’s a try’.

“I’ll leave it to you guys to make any comment more than that, but we believe it was a try.”

Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s late try proved pivotal as France dug out a dramatic 20-16 Guinness Six Nations victory over Scotland at Murrayfield – but only after a controversial decision not to award the hosts a try in the last action of the match.

Les Bleus – who lost 38-17 at home to Ireland in their opener last weekend – looked in danger of starting the championship with back-to-back defeats as they trailed for most of the match after Ben White’s seventh-minute try.

However, Bielle-Biarrey’s moment of inspiration in the 70th minute allowed the French – who had scored in the first half through Gael Fickou – to get themselves in front.

The Scots – looking to make it back-to-back wins after their triumph in Wales last weekend – staged a late rally and thought they had claimed the victory when they forced their way over the line after the 80-minute mark, but following a lengthy TMO review, it was deemed they had not grounded the ball.

Scotland – already missing key back-three members Blair Kinghorn and Darcy Graham through injury – were forced into a late change in the back division when wing Kyle Steyn withdrew after his wife went into labour. The uncapped Harry Paterson, who was not in the initial 23, was enlisted to start at full-back, with Kyle Rowe – due to be starting in the 15 jersey – shifting to the wing.

The Scots went ahead with a superbly worked try in the seventh minute, with some quick passing from Duhan van der Merwe, Paterson and Huw Jones on the right paving the way for Toulon scrum-half White, who did well to avoid dropping the ball before holding off the attention of two Frenchmen trying to grapple him as he slid gleefully over the line. Finn Russell converted.

The visitors got their first points in the 12th minute through a Thomas Ramos penalty. And they looked certain to get themselves in front three minutes later when Fickou saw a gap on the left and went for it, but Van der Merwe got back to made a vital challenge just before the line, which was deemed by the officials to be legal, much to the frustration of Les Bleus.

The Scots generally looked the more assured of the two sides, however, and a couple of Russell penalties in the 22nd minute and then just before the half hour, nudged them 10 points clear.

A stark reminder of the French threat came in the 31st minute when they worked an opening on the right for Fickou who forced his way over the line despite the best efforts of Jones to halt him. Ramos converted, bringing his team within three points of their hosts.

The French – who played the majority of the Ireland game with 14 men last weekend – suffered a blow two minutes before the interval when Uini Atonio was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on Matt Fagerson.

The Scots were camped in front of the French line for the closing minutes of the first half but were unable to reward themselves with further points as they went in at the interval with a slender 13-10 lead.

Fagerson – who had been in the wars in the first half – was replaced by Saracens back-rower for the start of the second period.

Following his indiscipline, Atonio would have been hugely relieved to return to the fray with no further scoreline damage incurred by his side.

There was a sense that the failure to take advantage of the prop’s time in the sin bin might come back to bite them, but another penalty from Russell in the 59th minute opened up a six-point advantage and eased some of the tension among the home support.

Just as the hosts looked to have a good level of control, France turned the game in their favour in the 70th minute when Bielle-Biarrey raced on to his own kick over the top and touched down on the left. Ramos converted to put Les Bleus a point ahead.

The full-back then added a penalty in the 77th minute, ensuring the Scots would need a try to won the game. They momentarily thought they had it in the dying moments before the officials cut short their celebrations.