Duan van der Merwe's hat-trick helped Scotland beat rivals England 30-21 in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Saturday to qualify for the Calcutta Cup.
The powerful finisher scored twice against the Red Rose in last year's game, and he scored another in 2024 as Scotland bounced back from their matchday two loss to France.
England's two tries on the day came from George Furbank and Immanuel Fay-Waboso, but England suffered their first defeat in the Six Nations, leaving their hopes of winning the title all but hopeless.
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Remarkably, the Red Rose have only won one of their last seven meetings with Scotland.
England, led by their brave captain Jamie George, got off to a strong start as they entered the fray just over a week after losing their mother to cancer.
The Red Rose had been pushing Scotland from the start, and Northampton full-back Firbank, making his first start in almost two years, gleefully deflected Elliot Daly's shot from close range in the dying seconds to take the lead in the fifth minute. The end of a great move.
Scotland then suffered a further setback with Xander Fagerson sent off for an HIA, but the influential prop was able to return to the match in the 18th minute.
England now had a 10-0 lead and Ford took a penalty in the 15th minute.
Scotland were in disarray for most of the first quarter, but suddenly came to life and got back into the game after 20 minutes.
Huw Jones dashes towards the right-wing line and, after being dragged to the ground, the center bounces the ball into the path of Van der Merwe, who finds the gap and bolts over. He developed a great skill.
England's early wind died down and Van der Merwe put Scotland in the lead on the half-hour mark with a breathtaking goal from his own half.
As the visiting team began their attack, Ford's heavy pass hit Firbank in the face and into the hands of Jones, who immediately sent the ball 60 meters out to Van der Merwe.
The winger put on the afterburners and raced up the left flank, leaving a trail of white jerseys in his slipstream. Finn Russell added another point and a penalty moments later increased the hosts' advantage to 17-10.
England wobbled but Ford kept his cool and cut the gap to four points at the interval with a well-placed drop goal from 35 yards out.
Scotland suffered what appeared to be a blow within seconds of the second-half kick-off when Sione Tuipulotu limped off and was replaced by Cam Redpath.
WATCH: Duane van der Merwe struggles against England with brilliant hat-trick
However, the substitute center broke through the gap on the halfway line in the 45th minute and helped the home side further take the lead.
A ruck ensued as Redpath was stopped in his tracks and Russell fired his trademark cross-field kick to the left, which Van der Merwe leaped over to complete his hat-trick and his 26th try for Scotland. did.
Ford scored a penalty in the 50th minute to cut the deficit to 24-16, but Russell scored several penalties on either side in the final hour to put the home side firmly back in control.
England had done little since the first quarter, but substitute winger Fay-Waboso gave them a glimmer of hope with a goal from the left in the 67th minute.
Finn Smith had a chance to lead his team to victory within a converted try, but the conversion hit the post and Scotland maintained a nine-point lead and watched out the rest of the game with relative ease.
Even a yellow card for a tip tackle in the closing minutes couldn't dampen van der Merwe's day.
team
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duane van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory – Durge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Xander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schumann
Replacement: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliott Miller-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Andy Christie, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath
England: 15 George Firbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chetham, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dankor, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacement: 16 Theo Dunn, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stewart, 19 George Martin, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Finn Smith, 23 Immanuel Fay-Waboso
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referee: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
read more: Ireland 31 – 7 Wales: 27 stats from the Six Nations including an amazing home record
