How Curry twins embody England's scrambling spirit

Was it pluck or luck that took England to victory over Scotland? The wheel of fortune has certainly spun.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

England generally played well across 2024 yet found themselves coming out on the wrong side of results; in these last two rounds of the Six Nations, they have been outclassed for significant periods yet ended up just about on the right side of the ledger.

This was, Steve Borthwick admitted afterwards, not a performance of which England could be entirely proud. With Scotland forcing them to stray from their strategy, most of their attacking ambition was tempered – Twickenham’s boos may have eventually turned to cheers but there were times when the Allianz Stadium crowd made their disapproval perfectly clear.

But progress can be made in many ways. It is not always great adventurous bounds that take you forward; tentative tiptoes in the right direction can be just as crucial. Statisticians will tell you that a side that regularly comes out on the wrong side of tight games will eventually find the tables turn; after the pain of last year, England have earned the rub of the green.

“We don’t necessarily want to play the way we played today,” Borthwick conceded. “But we found a way to win and we’ll make sure we’re better for this experience.

“I am a believer that you get back what you put in. I’m a believer that if you keep trying to do the right things, if you keep working hard, you will get rewarded. It’s the way I was brought up. That’s part of my roots, part of my make-up.”