Townsend wants England agony to inspire Scotland for Six Nations finish / Photo: Glyn KIRK - AFP
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Townsend wants England agony to inspire Scotland for Six Nations finish
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has urged his side to use the agony of their desperately close defeat by England to fuel the remainder of their Six Nations campaign.
The Calcutta Cup was wrenched from Scotland's grasp as their bid for a record-breaking fifth successive win over England ended with a 16-15 loss at Twickenham on Saturday.
But the result would have been different had fly-half Finn Russell landed a last-minute conversion from out near the touchline after Duhan van der Merwe had sprinted in for a try.
It was a harsh outcome for Scotland after they outscored England three tries to one, albeit co-captain Russell missed all three conversions.
"We were very close to getting a historic win and whether it was a kick or another decision at the end of the game, we'd be talking about a brilliant win," said Townsend. "But we're not. And that's credit to England for staying out in front at the end."
Scotland have yet to win a title in the Six Nations era, with their last championship triumph coming when they won the last edition of the old Five Nations in 1999.
And they appear to be out of the running again after their second straight defeat following a 32-18 loss to reigning champions Ireland.
Scotland finish this season's Six Nations with next month's games at home to Wales and away to France who trounced Italy 73-24 in Rome on Sunday.
"It won't be too difficult to lift the players because we asked them to show who we are as a team against England," said Townsend. "I believe we did that, both in attack and defence and in the effort that's required to play for Scotland."
Wales suffered a record-extending 15th straight Test defeat on Saturday but, in caretaker coach Matt Sherratt's first game in charge since succeeding Warren Gatland, they delivered a much-improved performance before going down 27-18.
"A lot of what we worked on and what we showed, we've got to bring that out in the next two games –- and they will be tough challenges," said former Scotland playmaker Townsend.
"I watched a lot of the Wales game against Ireland, they played very well so we know we'll have to build on what we did against England."
H.Giordano--IM
