Stephen Jones doesn't hold back in his assessment of England following their Calcutta Cup draw with Scotland at Murrayfield in The Sunday Times.
"At the end they couldn’t separate them; they were almost equally bad. England were ludicrously fortunate to finish level with a boisterous Scotland, even though Toby Flood dropped for goal and for some kind of tarnished glory in the dying seconds. It would have been a travesty had he succeeded and a scruffy kick that was easily charged down typified, in terms of execution and spectacle, the match. Tries have become an endangered species. So has flow. So has joy.
"The English self-delusion goes on. Such is England’s lack of attacking intent, confidence and direction, it seemed they were almost petrified to go for the win at the end, sending the ball back to Flood when it begged to be driven on. Apart from a few minutes in the third quarter and a reasonably lively bit at the end, they did not exist as an attacking force.
"Scotland will go to their graves feeling this was a wonderful chance missed. Dan Parks, who was far more successful than Jonny Wilkinson in ushering in something that passed for an attacking game, struck a post twice. England were also fortunate to be awarded the penalty that gave them the draw, and even more fortunate that Mark Cueto was not dismissed to the sin-bin for killing the ball only a few minutes after the inadequate South African referee Marius Jonker had clearly stated that the next England transgressor would be off."
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