England's limitations laid bare in wretched contest
ENGLAND 16
SCOTLAND 12
Another grotesque apology for rugby by England: another turn in the grave for William Webb Ellis, one Englishman who did believe in running with the ball.
Either England change their philosophy for the better and add some dynamism to their play, or the sooner someone puts them out of their misery, the better.
England and Scotland have been fighting wars of attrition for centuries and nothing changes. For 76 minutes of this match, England were sterile, slow, one-paced and full of errors. Even when they did began to stir in the second half, albeit only intermittently, they looked laboured.
Scotland, who started so well, were gradually worn down, losing a 12-3 lead with little more than 20 minutes left to finally succumb in the 77th minute.
Jonny Wilkinson is a shadow of his former self as a kicker at this World Cup. He landed only three out of nine attempts at the posts but those three -- two penalties and a drop goal -- somehow kept England in touch.
Then with time running out and the England forwards at last in the ascendancy, they won a penalty which they kicked into the Scottish 22. England won the lineout and when they moved right, substitute Toby Flood, who had replaced the injured and ineffective Mike Tindall with 10 minutes left, floated a long pass out to wing Chris Ashton and his pace did the rest. Flood landed the difficult conversion and England, ahead for the first time in the game, had stolen victory.
Yet manager Martin Johnson made no apologies for England's turgid display. "We showed character to get ourselves out of a very tough hole. The way the guys handled half-time was very good. Dan Parks' drop goal [the last act of the first half] gave Scotland a 9-3 lead. So for us to come back and win the rest of the game 13-3 was good.
"This has been a very gritty group and today's match was a bit like the Argentina game. Scotland certainly had the initiative in the first half but we felt when we held onto the ball we would create pressure and opportunities. And when the opportunity did come, we took it."
Victory put England through to a quarter-final against France, also in Auckland, next weekend. Johnson acknowledged that France would be disappointed with their shock defeat to Tonga but added, "that doesn't mean anything now".
"You play these games in isolation. When you get into the quarter-finals, what happened last week or last month means nothing. They are dangerous and never more than when they are flying under the radar. We are doing that too, probably. Next week, we certainly have to play better than we have done today. But you have to find a way to win these games and we did that."
Scotland dominated the first half, with their swarming attack on all fronts causing chaos. England found themselves unable to cope and forced into errors. But as their coach Andy Robinson pointed out, little things, even inches, make such a difference at this level.
Robinson pinpointed one moment as crucial. Chris Paterson had just landed his third penalty to put Scotland 12-3 ahead after 55 minutes when they made a mess of the re-start. England went down the other end and Wilkinson immediately responded with a drop goal.
"These games are cut and thrust, they are sometimes about inches," said Robinson. "England is a side that understands how to keep the scoreboard moving. That score put them on the front foot and it became difficult for us.
"England did well to get themselves back into the game and that is what they have got to take credit for. Everybody in our dressing room is absolutely gut-wrenched about losing, for we got so close to doing it. But I couldn't ask any more of them today and I feel extremely proud of them.
"England were very clinical when they got the chance. They were under huge pressure today but found a way to win the game and that is what it is about. That is what we have got to learn."
Because it was so close and such a battle, it was compelling in one sense. But neither team played any quality rugby. Surely, for the sake of the game and its future, you would have to hope the eventual champions do just that?
You couldn't even say the English forward play, their only real attacking weapon apart from Wilkinson, was anything special. They were not in the same league in terms of the dynamism shown by the Irish forwards against Australia two weeks ago.
Scorers -- England: Ashton try; Wilkinson 2 pens, d-g; Flood con. Scotland: Paterson 2 pens; Parks pen, d-g.
England: B Foden; C Ashton, M Tuilagi, M Tindall (T Flood 71), D Armitage; J Wilkinson (M Banahan 75), B Youngs (R Wigglesworth 73); Stevens A Corbisiero 72), S Thompson (D Hartley 67), D Cole; L Deacon, C Lawes (T Palmer 56); T Croft, L Moody (capt, N Easter 53-65), J Haskell (N Easter 65).
Scotland: C Paterson; M Evans (N de Luca h-t), J Ansbro, S Lamont, S Danielli; R Jackson (D Parks 4), M Blair (C Cusiter 71); A Jacobsen (A Dickinson 67), R Ford, E Murray; R Gray, A Kellock (capt); A Strokosch (N Hines 64), J Barclay (R Rennie 64), R Vernon.
Ref: C Joubert (South Africa)
- Peter Bills , in Auckland
