Duhan van der Merwe made history as the first Scottish player to score a hat-trick in the Calcutta Cup, leading Scotland to a 30-21 victory over England in the Six Nations. This marked Scotland’s fourth consecutive win over England in the tournament. Despite early tries from George Furbank and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for England, Van der Merwe’s exceptional performance and Finn Russell’s flawless kicking kept Scotland ahead.
Scotland and England both currently have two wins from three games. Scotland will next face Italy, while England will play against undefeated reigning champions, Ireland. The last time Scotland achieved four consecutive wins against England was in 1896, during Queen Victoria’s reign.
Scotland’s head coach, Gregor Townsend, now has a record of five wins and one draw from seven matches against England. Despite a shaky start with England leading 10-0 after 15 minutes, Van der Merwe’s dynamic performance turned the game around.
Van der Merwe was awarded player of the match, despite receiving a late yellow card for a reckless tackle. Meanwhile, England will be reflecting on their performance after Van der Merwe’s masterclass in finishing. Despite an early lead, too many errors crept into their game, allowing Scotland to take control.
Townsend described the win as “massive”, praising Van der Merwe’s performance and highlighting the team’s resilience. England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, acknowledged that their performance was not good enough and emphasized the need for improvement before their match against Ireland.
