Former Scotland coach Matt Williams has said England were 'not at the races' and Billy Vunipola looks 'completely out of shape'.
“The Saracens players weren’t at the races,” said Williams, who was appearing as a pundit for the match on Irish TV channel Virgin Media One.
“Vunipola, if we didn’t know the pubs were closed you’d swear he had been in one. He was out of shape.
“There was no way he was ready for international rugby. Owen Farrell, one of the best players in the world, was way off the mark. Even the great (Maro) Itoje gave away a lot of penalties. But I don’t want to take anything away from Scotland, they deserve all the credit and it has smashed the tournament wide open.
“Sensational win for Scotland. They were brave. That’s the cliche, but they were smart and they did it for 80 minutes. They overcame a sin-bin. An absolute brain-snap at the end, what were they thinking of taking the drop goal? Who’d be a coach? Poor Gregor (Townsend) must need resuscitation after that.
“If they hadn’t had won, if England had scrapped that, it would have been a travesty.
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1. Sam Simmonds for Billy Vunipola
He’s a bit of a renegade but, with eight tries in the Premiership already, the calls for an international recall continue to grow. Hopefully talent prevails, but in this case it’s more likely that Eddie Jones ignores fans and carries on with Vunipola. The Saracens back-rower was sin-binned against Scotland and looked very poor throughout.
2. Luther Burrell for Ollie Lawrence
It's just not worked out for Worcester-man Lawrence in the England shirt thus far. Meanwhile, Burrell has been like a rampaging bull since making his return to the Premiership following a disappointing stint in that "other sport". Operating as the Falcons' chief ball carrier this season, Burrell is probably the closest human battering ram around to Manu Tuilagi.
3. Adam Radwan for Jonny May
May has underwhelmed since rejoining the Cherry & Whites, while Radwan has been a standout star for the high-flying Falcons. The Newcastle flyer, who was the top-scorer in the Championship last season, put the England winger on his ass twice as the two went head-to-head at Kingston Park recently. May was awful today against Scotland.
4. Ollie Thorley for Anthony Watson
He made his debut for the Cherry & Whites in 2013 as a 17-year-old, partnering with World Cup winner Mike Tindall in the centre of an LV= Cup match. The winger has since gone on to prove himself as one of the brightest talents at Kingsholm. Watson hasn’t been at his best for a while now, and Thorley deserves his chance to start a few games.
5. Marcus Smith for Owen Farrell
Named as an apprentice in the England party for the 2018 NatWest Six Nations, the dynamic fly-half then starred for the England XV side that beat the Barbarians 51-43 at Twickenham in May 2019; scoring 26 of those points in a stand-out performance.
Despite his stellar form for Harlequins, he’s since been in the international wilderness with no sign of a recall from Eddie Jones. However, following Owen Farrell's recent performance against Scotland, it's clear as day that England need a more creative number 10 to orchestrate the attack.
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