Rugby Union: `We wore them down and then took control'

Will Carling inspired England to a Twickenham triumph and then expressed his delight at finally securing his first try against Scotland. The former captain, who touched down during England's second-half points spree, said: "We put a lot of work in and at the end scored some tries and, as we are always hearing we don't score tries, that was very satisfying.

"I have never scored a try against Scotland before so I was very pleased, but it was a great team performance. We wore them down first, they are a defensive side especially against England, and then took control.

"I thought the new combinations worked well and I'm delighted for a lot of the guys who have been under pressure."

The captain Phil de Glanville, who also scored a try, added: "It was a good all-round performance. We got the balance just about right. We did what we needed to do in the first half and then gradually the opportunities and the space came in the second half and we made use of it. We could have had a couple more in the end. The effort was superb and it was a good start.

"Scotland tackled very well. They threw it around and were willing to run from deep. A couple of times they got caught and a couple of times they made a lot of yardage, so credit to them for playing the game in a great way."

De Glanville's Scottish counterpart, Rob Wainwright, said: "There was a lot of pressure on our line and we tackled well. In the first 50 minutes, things were going according to plan. But we had the same problems that we had two weeks ago against Wales, our defence just wasn't up to the mark really and England worked their tries really well."

Commenting on his disallowed first-half try, Wainwright said: "At the time I was hoping it would be awarded, but I think I was maybe an inch short. It's difficult to tell."

While England were celebrating, the Welsh were forced to admit that they were just not up to seeing off the Irish at Cardiff Arms Park.

"We let Ireland control the pattern of the game and they dominated us," the Welsh wing, Ieuan Evans, said after the 26-25 defeat.

"We have got to pick ourselves up after this," said Evans who extended his record try count for Wales to 33 with a score in each half. "We had the perfect start but after that it was all Ireland really. We allowed the ball to be turned over far too often. We were making 20 to 30 yards and then would lose the ball."