Saturday 8 February 2020 21:46, UK
Gregor Townsend has absolved Stuart Hogg from blame despite the Scotland skipper making his second costly mistake in as many Guinness Six Nations games.
A week on from the Exeter full-back blowing a golden opportunity against Ireland with a horror try-line fumble, Hogg was guilty of another disastrous slip as his side lost their grip on the Calcutta Cup with defeat to England.
Faced with an awkward George Ford kick, the Dark Blues captain carried the ball back under his own posts to hand the Auld Enemy the five-metre scrum from which Ellis Genge bulldozed over for the winning try.
But Townsend refused to make his captain the scapegoat for a 13-6 defeat played out amid brutal conditions as Storm Ciara battered Murrayfield.
He said: "There was about 40 or 50 errors out there today. Stuart was trying to let the ball go over the try line and it just didn't bounce up. If it had bounced over, we'd have had a 22 drop out and not a scrum-five.
"So Stuart was an inch or two away from making a brilliant decision. Some of his play was excellent, it's very tough to play in those conditions and there will be a lot of mistakes, from both sides."
But even those words did little to ease Hogg's pain.
Asked how he felt, the 27-year-old replied: "Devastated. Again, it was a huge chance for us to exit and get down the right end.
"Unfortunately the ball just didn't sit up and it was tough to take. I put the boys under a wee bit of pressure and, unfortunately, we didn't manage to get out of it.
"I'll take that on my shoulders, take it on the chin and be in a position to say I made a mistake. I'm not going to shy away from it. Unfortunately I made a mistake - and these things cost us."
Scotland had the wind at their backs in the first half but it made no difference as England stood firm. Townsend's team were turned over 21 times - compared to just seven for the visitors - but Hogg made no excuses.
He said: "It was really tough out there. The wind and the rain, it wasn't ideal conditions. But we had to adapt. Sometimes we did. Sometimes we struggled.
"But credit to England, they executed their kicking game very well.
"Was that the worst conditions I've played in? Definitely up there. I had to jump in the shower straight after game because I was freezing. I'm still not warmed up. But it's the same for everybody."
