Scotland 15 England 9ENGLAND'S SEASON, if not Brian Ashton's entire 15-month stewardship, resembles a game of snakes and ladders. A World Cup final appearance and a hard-earned victory over France are all well and good, but this morning Ashton finds himself back at square one.
Not for two decades have England spent five successive years as championship also-rans and there are issues on and off the field which transparently need swift remedial action.
How is it possible for a team's performance to go so markedly up and down from month to month? If Ashton felt the problem had been sorted out in Paris, he knows better now. Over the next 24 hours he also has some ruthless decisions to make. Scotland deserve applause for an old-fashioned Calcutta Cup mugging in difficult conditions, but the visitors' game management, discipline and tactical kicking were all abysmal.
It is a question less of whether Ashton will reshuffle the team to face Ireland this Saturday than of how many amendments he will restrict himself to. "I'm sure Brian will be making some changes," confirmed his captain, Phil Vickery, who described his players' inconsistency as "unacceptable".
Top of the snagging list, out of necessity, will be the name of Jonny Wilkinson. The image of the weekend, if not the entire championship, was of England with 10 minutes to go hauling off not just their captain but their iconic outhalf as well.
If he starts against Ireland, it will be only because Ashton cannot bring himself to do the once unthinkable. Between 2000 and 2003 Wilkinson was the answer to middle England's prayers. Now, despite taking the world points-scoring record from Neil Jenkins on Saturday, he looks and sounds like a man losing faith in his ability to control a game.
"You feel a bit helpless out there at times," he confessed. "It wasn't so much a case of choosing the best option as the least damaging. That's when you know that an opposing team has a real grip on you."
It was the plaintive cry of an outhalf whose defensive strengths no longer mask his declining powers in other areas.
Among those on borrowed time must also be Lesley Vainikolo, who had a nightmare on the left wing, so much so that Ronan O'Gara will pray Vainikolo features not only at Twickenham but in Gloucester's European Cup quarter-final against Munster as well.
"We went out and did everything we talked about not doing," admitted Vickery, referring specifically to the rash of penalties which allowed Chris Paterson and Dan Parks to put Scotland on top. "We knew we had to be squeaky clean and couldn't afford to give them anything. Those of us lucky enough to be selected next week have to regroup. Not enough of us performed to the necessary standard."
In the end it was groundhog day with tartan trimmings, a virtual re-run of 2000 when Scotland overturned the supposed odds on another foul day. The only difference was that this time the home team did not even have to score a try.
They tackled splendidly, one juddering effort by Jason White on Paul Sackey encapsulating what the Scotland coach, Frank Hadden, called a "Herculean" effort. After 48 minutes they led 15-3 and the diagonal kicking of Hugo Southwell, the directness of Graeme Morrison and the undoubted class of Simon Taylor contrasted sharply with the visitors' turgid efforts.
Scotland even kept their focus after a nasty-looking injury to the winger Rory Lamont, who has been discharged from hospital but will miss his side's final game against Italy with concussion.
Ashton, in the meantime, has other headaches to resolve.
SCOTLAND:Southwell; Lamont, Webster, Morrison, Walker; Paterson, Blair; Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Hines, MacLeod, Strokosch, Taylor, Hogg. Replacements:Parks for Lamont (21), Lawson for Blair (76), Dickinson for Jacobsen (64), Thomson for Ford (25), Smith for Murray (68), White for MacLeod (63), Brown for Hogg (72).
ENGLAND:Balshaw; Sackey, Noon, Flood, Vainikolo; Wilkinson, Wigglesworth; Sheridan, Mears, Vickery, Shaw, Borthwick, Croft, Easter, Lipman. Replacements:Tait for Flood, Kay for Shaw (both 66); Chuter for Mears (67); C Hodgson for Wilkinson, Stevens for Vickery (both 70), Narraway for Lipman (73). Not used:P Hodgson.
Referee: J Kaplan(South Africa).
