‘Something to smile about’: Townsend salutes Scotland after shocking England
Gregor Townsend said Scotland’s supporters now had “something to smile about for the next 12 months” after his side regained the Calcutta Cup with a stunning 30-21 victory over England.The hosts ran out comfortable winners and Townsend said Scotland produced “some of the best rugby we’ve ever played” in the opening quarter.Given their wounding defeat to Italy on the opening weekend it will certainly rank among Scotland’s most memorable wins under Townsend, who has now been the architect of five Six Nations wins over England in six years.The head coach was full of praise for his players afterwards and says he was extremely proud of the reaction to the defeat by Italy.“I’m quite emotional,” Townsend told ITV Sport.
“After 20 minutes I thought that was some of the best rugby we’ve ever played.So much ambition.That’s all you want as a coach.Then the effort in the second half … we became a real team that will fight for each other and our supporters.It’s great we can give them something to smile about for the next 12 months.
“We were just true to ourselves,We moved the ball away from contact, were aggressive in contact and played at speed,That was one of Finn Russell’s best performances for Scotland,The work rate from our forwards was superb,“There are so many games where you play well but the opposition play well too and get narrow wins.
We know we’re up there with the teams we come up against.For coaches, there is more a feeling of relief but for the players it’s joy.But we’re back on it next week.We’ll go to Cardiff and build on what we’ve done today.”The Scotland captain, Sione Tuipulotu, acknowledged the Italian disappointment had fuelled his side’s desire to take down England.
“I did really feel desperate this week …I can’t remember hurting like that after a game,” said Tuipulotu, who felt his side had “bossed” an England team previously unbeaten in 12 Tests.“For us to pick ourselves up again … I’m so proud of the coaching staff and the group.It’s not easy to be in that changing room and not get the results.“It’s hard at times to sit in the chair I’m sitting in.Now I really want us to back up this performance next week in a stadium we’ve previously had problems in.
I feel this is a performance that can change a lot.”Scotland do have some injury problems to manage, with Jack Dempsey (biceps) and Jamie Ritchie (knee) out of next week’s game against Wales and Jamie Dobie nursing a shoulder injury.England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, acknowledged his side were blown away in the first quarter and were left with too much ground to make up after Henry Arundell’s red card.“I am bitterly disappointed,” said Borthwick.“Scotland got an advantage from the aerial contest and from those loose balls they attacked really well.
Clearly playing such a large part of the game without a winger against a team moving the ball to the edge that much hurt us.Ultimately it gave us too much to do in the second half.“To have conceded the points we conceded in the first 20 minutes was disappointing.We played against New Zealand and were 12-0 down and we reeled them in.Unfortunately we gave Scotland too much of a head start and playing 30 minutes of that first 50 with 14 men hurt us.
He [Arundell] is disappointed as all the players are but he will bounce back.”
Starmer has chance to put overseas aid and debt relief on G20 agenda | Heather Stewart
If Keir Starmer wants to win back disillusioned voters deserting his party for the Liberal Democrats or the Greens, he could do worse than rediscover Labour’s longstanding moral commitment to international development.Since cutting the overseas aid budget to fund higher defence spending – losing the excellent Anneliese Dodds in the process – Labour has had little to say on the subject, aside from the fact that 0.3% of national income is the new normal.But despite the cuts, Foreign Office sources insist that behind the scenes there is a renewed commitment to winning the argument for “the impact and benefits of international development”. If so, it could not come at a more propitious moment
Firm that went bust owing £650k to HMRC offers staff Las Vegas trip after being bought by ex-owner
A recruitment business that went bust owing the tax authorities and other creditors almost £3m has promised to send its staff on an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas after being repurchased by its former owner for an initial £10,000.Premier Group Recruitment went into administration in September with debts of £2.9m – including £647,000 owed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which had commenced enforcement proceedings against the company.The recruiter’s assets were acquired three days later by a new company, PGGBR Ltd, founded by Andrew Woosnam, Premier’s 99% shareholder.Shorn of its debts, the new company has been active on social media, posting on LinkedIn: “END OF YEAR TRIP 2026
The problem with doorbell cams: Nancy Guthrie case and Ring Super Bowl ad reawaken surveillance fears
What happens to the data that smart home cameras collect? Can law enforcement access this information – even when users aren’t aware officers may be viewing their footage? Two recent events have put these concerns in the spotlight.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.A Super Bowl ad by the doorbell-camera company Ring and the FBI’s pursuit of the kidnapper of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, have resurfaced longstanding concerns about surveillance against a backdrop of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown
US military used Anthropic’s AI model Claude in Venezuela raid, report says
Claude, the AI model developed by Anthropic, was used by the US military during its operation to kidnap Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Saturday, a high-profile example of how the US defence department is using artificial intelligence in its operations.The US raid on Venezuela involved bombing across the capital, Caracas, and the killing of 83 people, according to Venezuela’s defence ministry. Anthropic’s terms of use prohibit the use of Claude for violent ends, for the development of weapons or for conducting surveillance.Anthropic was the first AI developer known to be used in a classified operation by the US department of defence. It was unclear how the tool, which has capabilities ranging from processing PDFs to piloting autonomous drones, was deployed
Wales v France: Six Nations 2026 rugby union – live
40+1 mins. Wales have possession around halfway after 10 phases. The ball is overrun out wide and Guillard clamps on to win a penalty. Jalibert has mercy on the home side and decides to tap it to end the half rather than have another attack.39 mins
Federica Brignone sends home fans wild with second gold as Shiffrin struggles
Federica Brignone, the racing queen of Cortina, has won her second gold medal in the space of three days at the Winter Olympics. After her victory in the women’s Super-G on Friday, she won the giant slalom by just over six-tenths of a second.As small as that gap sounds, it was an enormous margin in a race where there were only six-hundredths of a second between the three women who finished behind her; Sweden’s Sara Hector, Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund, and Brignone’s Italian teammate Lara Della Mea. The gap between Brignone and second place was the same as that between second and 15th.It was a rare and beautiful display of high-speed skiing on L’Olympia delle Tofane by a woman who has found once-in-a-lifetime form at her home Olympics
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