Eddie Jones has promised England will learn their lesson after Scotland regained the Calcutta Cup.
Huw Jones scored two first-half tries as the hosts raced out the traps and, although England improved after the break, they held on to secure a famous 25-13 win.
That marked England’s second defeat under Jones, who has led the Red Rose to two NatWest 6 Nations titles since taking the job in 2015.
The first came in Dublin against Ireland last year and the Australian head coach insists both will do them good in the long run.
“These are lessons you don’t want to have but they are the best lessons in the world. We will learn a lot from this,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it is not always a nice lesson to take but it is an important one. We were not there in the first half and I take responsibility for it.
“I did not prepare the team as well as I should have. We knew they would go hard at the breakdown, they attacked well but we just did not defend well.
“I don’t think they surprised us but we just did not do things as well as them.”
England battled well in the second half with Owen Farrell scoring just a few minutes after the re-start.
But the damage was done. Jones, one of the most dangerous backs in the world on current form, took his two tries superbly while wing Sean Maitland got the other in the opening 40. England still attacked with gusto but Scotland’s outstanding defence saw them over the line, leaving Ireland as the only unbeaten side left in the Championship.
“Full credit to Scotland, they played very well and deserved it. We said before we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Jones added.
“At the start we did not have the intensity and we invited them to the game. They took advantage and raced away, it is hard to come back from 22 points down. “I am really proud of the effort we put in in the second half, we showed a lot of courage and character to get back into a position where we could have won the game.
“They beat us at the breakdown, we did not get our defence spacing right in the first and they were able to cut holes in us. That is disappointing.”
