England coach Eddie Jones has taken the blame for his side’s subpar performance in their historic loss to Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday.
England started the defence of their Six Nations title by suffering their first home defeat to Scotland in 38 years.
The home side looked rusty and Scotland took advantage as they dominated possession and territory for most of the contest.
England also conceded far too many penalties, with No 8 Billy Vunipola being shown a yellow card in the first half, during which Scotland scored the only try of the match.
‘We were a long way off our best and as head coach I take responsibility for that,’ Jones said. Scotland played very well and they should be congratulated. We have to look forward and Italy next weekend is a great opportunity for us.
‘It is what it is. I accept not getting the players right for this match and so we did not perform at the level we intended to. We were not good enough today and we have to accept that. Scotland had a 10-1 penalty count early on and 75% possession which meant we were not able to get our runners into the match.’
Meanwhile, England captain Owen Farrell said he hoped the loss would serve as a wake-up call as they will face tough trips to Cardiff and Dublin, in-between hosting Italy and France.
‘We struggled to achieve momentum and played a lot in our own half,’ Farrell said. I think we tried too hard and ended up conceding a number of penalties. They were awarded for a variety of reasons and it is what happens when you are under pressure.’
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