Duhan van der Merwe scored one of the great Calcutta Cup tries as Scotland beat England yet again at Twickenham in their opening match of the 2023 Six Nations.
A thrilling back-and-forth showdown saw both sides spend time in the lead, with just a one-point gap separating the bitter rivals for much of the contest.
Van der Merwe lit up the Twickenham turf with an incredible 55-yard solo try in the first half, and then produced another quality finish in the corner five minutes from time to give Scotland another famous victory at Rugby HQ - their second in a row.
England led at half time thanks to a Max Malins brace and then for the entire second half until Van der Merwe's second try, but ultimately had to swallow another disappointing defeat in Steve Borthwick's first match as head coach.
The 29-23 loss is England's third home game in a row without winning - their worst such run since 2008 - and also means that they have lost their opening match in each of the last four Six Nations Championships, although Borthwick will take positives from certain elements of their performance at least.
Scotland, meanwhile, remain unbeaten at Twickenham since 2017 and have now lost just one of their last six meetings with England home and away, including three successive victories for their best run against their auld enemies since 1972.
It was the visitors who struck first to set the tone for an enthralling Calcutta Cup showdown, with Sione Tuipulotu sending a grubber kick through for Huw Jones to touch down for his fifth try in as many Six Nations games against England.
England responded in kind seven minutes later when Marcus Smith's kick was both gathered and touched down in one skilful movement by Malins for his first, although Owen Farrell pulled his conversion wide.
Van der Merwe's moment of magic arrived shortly before the half-hour mark when he collected the ball in his own half before embarking on a dazzling run that saw him cover 55 yards and beat five defenders single-handedly through a mixture of slick sidesteps and pure power.
Malins then went over for his second of the game shortly before half time to reduce the deficit again and, while Farrell skewed the conversion wide once more, he did then nudge over a penalty to ensure that England went into half time with a 13-12 lead.
The hosts then gave themselves a bit of a cushion when Ellis Genge burrowed over from close range eight minutes into the second half, but Scotland refused to take a backward step and reduced the deficit back to one courtesy of Ben White's score four minutes later, spinning away from Ben Curry's missed tackle before touching down.
The two sides then traded a penalty apiece before Van der Merwe expertly finished off another expansive Scotland move in the corner, cutting inside two defenders and powering through another to score the winning try.
Scotland will now look to back up that win at home to Wales next weekend, while England will be expected to get themselves on the board when they host Italy at Twickenham. body check tags ::
