Scotland's best Calcutta Cup tries under Townsend

BBC News

21-02-2025

On Gregor Townsend's watch, the Calcutta Cup has been a riot of brilliance and tries. In his seven games coaching against England - of which Scotland have lost just one - his team have scored a whopping 19 tries.To get some perspective on those numbers, consider this. In the 19 Calcutta Cups that went before, Scotland were kept tryless 10 times and scored a total of just 14 tries.The difference in eras is stark. Scotland haven't just scored buckets of tries in this game - Duhan van der Merwe has six and Huw Jones has five - they've scored buckets of classic tries, so many that I'm going to have a stab at rating them, from 10 to one.Agree or disagree with the selections or the running order, but we can surely agree on one thing: each one was a total belter.10 Ben White, Murrayfield 2022: Blink and you'll miss it opportunism. Darcy Graham motors and then turns Joe Marchant inside out before finding White, on his debut. Simple, but delicious. England torn apart.9 Stuart McInally, Twickenham 2019: Scotland were being blitzed 31-0 at Twickenham. Just before half-time, Stuart McInally charged down Owen Farrell 65m from the England posts and then picked up and ran. The hooker had wing Jonny May in pursuit, but May couldn't live with him. Over went McInally, out came the oxygen mask for the exhausted hero and back Scotland came in one of the great fightbacks.8 Duhan van der Merwe's first, Murrayfield 2024: Unstoppable Jones accelerates through a gap and England are on the back foot in major bother. Two scrambling Englishmen eventually bring the centre to the ground but in a blur, Jones offloads on the floor to the on-rushing wing.7 Duhan van der Merwe's second, Murrayfield 2024: England attacking, a loose pass bounces off George Furbank's face and goes to ground. Jones is onto it. From the deck he finds Van der Merwe who has half of Murrayfield to cover and absolute certainty in his eyes that he's going to cover it. Henry Slade reaches out forlornly to stop him like a man about to lose his grip on a cliff edge and away the big fella went.6 Huw Jones, Murrayfield 2018: A sensational solo score. Jones has been a monumental force in Calcutta Cups. Exploding through a gap between Nathan Hughes and Owen Farrell, Jones darted into the England 22 where Mike Brown and Anthony Watson looked set to clobber him. Jones was having none of it. He just took them with him over the line.5 Sam Johnson, Twickenham 2019: A gorgeous moment from Finn Russell, whose eyes suggested he was passing deep only to hit Sam Johnson with a flat ball. It's just terrific deception and skill. Johnson flew away, stepped Jack Nowell and held off Elliot Daly to score, From 31-0 down to leading 38-31. Spine-tingling.4 Duhan van der Merwe, Twickenham 2021: A seismic victory, the first at Twickenham since 1983 and sealed with a razor-sharp score. A Russell bomb is won in the air by Sean Maitland. Matt Fagerson carries like a demon over the gainline. Scotland see space on the other side of the pitch. It comes to Van der Merwe who batters through Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola for the decisive and historic score.3 Duhan van der Merwe's first, Twickenham 2023: England were told not to kick loosely to Scotland, but they did and the wing ran it straight back at them for one of the greatest solo tries the tournament has ever seen.He beat Joe Marchant and Ollie Chessum, he eluded Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet and then did Alex Dombrandt for good measure. Five defenders beaten in one mesmeric play. Unforgettable.2 Sean Maitland, Murrayfield 2018: It'll be remembered for Russell's pass to Jones, the moment of sheer audacity and excellence that sparked an incredible breakout. That on its own was a wow moment, but then Scotland went the length of the pitch to score.It then came down to Russell to float the try-scoring pass to Maitland, which he did with apparent ease. It was anything but easy. It was wondrous, from first second to last.1 Duhan van der Merwe's second, Twickenham 2023: One of the great team tries. Time was running out and Scotland were in their own half. From there - perfection. The speed of the attacks, the accuracy of the work, backs and forwards eating up yards while playing heads-up rugby. Joyous.The last act told you everything. Having pulled England this way and that, they struck for glory. Fraser Brown fed Richie Gray who flipped it on to Matt Fagerson, who put Van der Merwe loose. The colossus had to beat Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell and Max Malins. Easy and extraordinary at the same time.