England 22 - 16 Scotland - Match Review

Gone were the free-flowing displays that typified the wins against Australia and Italy, and the power-packed game that led to wins against France and Wales. This was England's poorest game of the championship, one where errors, scrappy play and a heroic opposition defence made life very difficult for the home side.

The hosts were forced to scrap for every inch by a Scotland side determined to end a drought at England's HQ dating back to 1983, and led by a coach equally driven to remind his previous employers of his prowess. They came tantalisingly close to re-writing the record books with a superb defensive effort, rattling England and knocking them out of their stride.

England will be concerned about their error count in the last couple of games, bred out of not having as much clean, front-foot ball as they would like, and whilst handling improved a notch since the France match, England can still look aimless when the pressure is really on and their possession is at best slowed, and at worst, turned over at the breakdown.

The bottom line however was that England got the all-important result, even when playing well below-par, something which hasn't always been the case in the last few years. They will learn a huge amount from the match, just as they no doubt have after every round of the competition so far.

The scrum was at its rock solid best, with tighthead Dan Cole in particular continuing to have a very fine Six Nations. The lineout was once again reliable under the leadership of Louis Deacon. England secured the majority of territory and possession, and had three or four prime opportunities to cross their opponent's try line, but for sloppy handling or faced with a ferocious and commited defence to let them down. England however were guilty once again of playing too much at times, forcing the ball rather than relying on a more basic approach.

With both teams exchanging shots at goal, and with the game in the balance a yellow card for Scotland flanker John Barclay proved to be the tipping point and the visitors' resolve was fractured if not broken. England flanker James Haskell rose to the challenge of a fired-up Scotland pack and few would deny him the Man of the Match honour in what could conceivably be seen as his finest display in an England shirt.

The back three of Chris Ashton, Mark Cueto and Ben Foden fizzed away but got little change out of the Scots and it was left to flanker Tom Croft to power over in his first game back from a shoulder injury suffered in the autumn. The strength in depth available to Johnson will bring him some cheer as he reviews this far from pretty victory but there is evidently work to be done if they are to close out this Championship and power on to the Rugby World Cup.

Whilst strength in depth is looking promising for England, some may begin to wonder whether a degree of complacency is starting to emerge amongst his players, given Johnson's (understandable) policy of consistency of selection. It is a fine balancing act, trying to develop a winning formula with a 22 who know each other's game inside out, and being seen to give opportunities to others who are desperate to show what they can do. With so little time until the World Cup however, Johnson's current policy on selection appears to make most sense.

So the Grand Slam dream is still on for England, but Martin Johnson and his players will know that their toughest Test will be their final one in the tournament, against an Ireland side determined to spoil the party. You can't help but think that such a closely-fought, frustrating result will do more for England than a half dozen try romp. If Martin Johnson and the rest of the England camp can work on the areas of their game that need attention, notably their work at the breakdown, game management and finishing, and put in their best display of the competition, England may just win their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2003.

Player Ratings:

15. Ben Foden: 7
14. Chris Ashton: 6
13. Mike Tindall: 6
12. Shontayne Hape: 7
11. Mark Cueto: 6
10. Toby Flood: 6
9. Ben Youngs: 6

1. Alex Corbisiero: 7
2. Dylan Hartley: 7
3. Dan Cole: 8
4. Tom Palmer: 6
5. Louis Deacon: 7
6. Tom Wood: 6
7. James Haskell: 9
8. Nick Easter: 7

England (9) 22
Try: Croft Con: Wilkinson Pens: Flood 4, Wilkinson

Scotland (9) 16
Try: Evans Con: Paterson Pens: Paterson 2 Drop-goals: Jackson