Scotland 6 England 13: Hodgson’s delight at stepping back into limelight

Charlie Hodgson has endured some rough times in an England shirt – from getting withdrawn after one missed tackle against New Zealand, to spending his international career in the shadow of Jonny Wilkinson and missing out on three World Cups.

But on his first start in nearly four years, the 31-year-old Halifax-born fly-half enjoyed a slice of redemption.

Just 29 seconds had elapsed in the second half when the Yorkshireman used the instincts drummed into him by Premiership champions Saracens to charge down Dan Parks’s kick to score the winning try.

England’s victory might have been built on their unbeatable defence and unbreakable spririt, allied with a large dose of Scottish profligacy when the tryline beckoned.

And Lancaster’s three starting debutants and four who came off the bench into the cauldron of Murrayfield in the second half all played their part in a resolute win.

But it was hard not to share in the pride of a self-effacing Yorkshireman for his significant contribution.

“The last 10 minutes and first 10 minutes of a half are opportune times to take advantage of mental lapses,” he said when pushed to explain what drove him to anticipate Parks’s kick from inside the Scottish five-metre line.

“I don’t know if it was a mental lapse on the part of Dan Parks, but for me it was just focussing on putting pressure on him.

“You get an idea of what people’s techniques are like, how they approach things, things you want to be working at.

“It’s not that I study tapes religiously, it’s more that it’s drummed into you at Saracens that you put pressure on every time, whether it’s the No 9, the 10 or the 15 and that’s the approach I took today.”

Hodgson is experienced enough to know today’s pat on the back can easily turn into next week’s awkward questions.

He will not believe the hype surrounding this young England team, who have rebuilt their image in Leeds and now their playing reputation in Edinburgh.

“I was determined to enjoy it,” Hodgson said of his return to the spotlight.

“I will probably think about it more when things have settled down a bit.”

All of England’s warriors can look back proudly.

From tough-tackling debutant Brad Barritt, to nerveless team-mate Owen Farrell, who converted Hodgson’s try and kicked two penalties – the latter coming eight minutes from time.

England’s defence was robust, with Tom Croft and Mouritz Botha particularly to the fore.

But Scotland’s aversion to scoring tries played a significant part.

Andy Robinson’s hosts enjoyed 13 minutes more possession and put together three times more phases than England, but they could not penetrate the well-drilled wall of white shirts.

Eight years have passed since a try was scored in this fixture and an attritional first half did nothing to suggest that sequence would end.

Only nine points were split from a half in which Scotland dominated territory but showed little verve against stout English defence.

The Scots burst out of the blocks, sensing hesitancy and uncertainty in the England ranks.

A meaty hit on Ben Foden under the high ball by Nick de Luca suggested the hosts were right to sense vulnerability.

Farrell missed his first kick at goal from 47 metres but atoned on 22 minutes from close-range as England’s gradual progression into the game gained reward.

England’s well-organised ranks were proving tough to break down, with even Hodgson forming an effective repellent when he caught a high ball at the second attempt under pressure from three marauding blue shirts.

But individual errors from captain Chris Robshaw and winger Chris Ashton presented Parks with two penalties that he kicked to give the Scots a 6-3 lead at the interval.

If a try was to come, one sensed it would be due to a mistake and not offensive guile, and so it proved less than a minute into the second half.

England’s deep restart left Parks in trouble and his kick was charged down by Hodgson, who, in the same movement, landed on the ball to score, Farrell converting.

Hodgson was now starting to dictate play and twice more he nearly created scores.

An interchange of passes down the left flank with Ashton created a chance for Farrell, whose path was blocked by De Luca.

Then Hodgson floated a super kick to the corner for David Strettle to run onto but Ross Rennie stopped him with a well-timed tackle as the former Rotherham wing came down with the ball.

Richie Gray was Scotland’s most potent ball carrier and it took a shirt pull from Foden to stop him scoring through the middle.

Lancaster and the England faithful then endured a nervy five minutes as referee George Clancy sent Greig Laidlaw’s touchdown upstairs to the video ref.

The Edinburgh replacement had executed a delightful chip over the retreating England backline that he nearly got full control of as he dived with Ben Youngs to make full contact. It was deemed no try.

England were reprieved again when Rennie – after a typically-robust burst through the middle – was guilty of concentrating on when to pass to the man on his shoulder when Foden tore into him to save the try.

It was a move that summed up Scotland’s fear of scoring and England’s desire to defend.

Scotland: R Lamont, Jones, De Luca, S Lamont, Evans, Parks (Laidlaw 59), Cusiter (Blair 59); Jacobsen, Ford (Lawson 75)s, Murray (Cross 75), Gray, Hamilton (Kellock 59), Strockosch (Barclay 59), Rennie, Denton. Unused replacements: Morrison.

England: Foden, Ashton, Barritt (Brown 72), Farrell, Strettle, Hodgson (Turner-Hall 63), Youngs (Dickson 63); Corbisiero (Stevens 63), Hartley, Cole, Botha, Palmer (Parling 59), Croft, Robshaw, Dowson (Morgan 69). Unused replacements: Webber.

Referee: G Clancy (Ireland).