"We couldn't find a way to get in the game." - Eddie Jones

England head coach Eddie Jones has been quick to shoulder responsibility for his team’s loss to Scotland last night.

It was the first time the Scots had emerged victorious at Twickenham in 38 years – a massive feather in the caps of head coach Gregor Townsend and his team.

“We couldn’t find a way to get in the game,” Jones said after his side’s 11-6 defeat. “On a day like that, the set piece is always going to be important – as are the contests in the air and the gain line.

“We couldn’t win any of those areas and seemed to be a yard off the pace. I have to blame myself – I didn’t prepare them well enough.

“Scotland played very well. They had a game plan they stuck to and executed it really well.

“They had enormous possession in the first half and a big penalty count. We can only blame ourselves for that. Congratulations to Scotland, they were too good for us today.”

Scotland’s heroic efforts yielded the possession and territory stats firmly in their favour with 65% and 70% respectively. The England forwards were also unable to keep a handle on the eager Scottish pack.

“In the first half, I think we had 25% possession,” Jones continued. “I haven’t seen the second half stats but it won’t be much higher than that.

“If you’ve only got 25% possession, and some of that is deep in your 22, if you’ve got numbers 10-15 on your back it’s difficult to get the ball.

“It was a traditional England-Scotland game – it was about set piece, winning the small battles around the gain line, winning the ball in the air, and we were second best in all those aspects. The backs in those situations become almost secondary unfortunately.

“You never atone for a game like this, it stays with you for a long time.

“The most important thing is that we get together and find a way to improve our performance and play like England does against Italy next week.

“We’ll start working on Italy preparation tomorrow. We’ve got to put this game behind us and get on with it.”