England held at Murrayfield

England's hopes in this season's RBS Six Nations Championship appear all but over after they were held to a 15-15 draw by Scotland at Murrayfield.

As perhaps predicted, the 127th staging of the Calcutta Cup proved a dour contest as two sides searching for form relied wholly on their fly-halves for their points.

Jonny Wilkinson kicked three penalties for England with Toby Flood finding the target twice more after coming on as a second-half replacement, but missing two late chances to take the two points.

Meanwhile, Dan Parks kicked four penalties and a drop goal for the Scots as they finally earned themselves a point in this year's campaign.

If the match occasionally sparked into life it was more as a result of the passion on display than the running rugby - Parks having more options at his disposal but those options running into a tough-tackling England side.

However, with leaders France playing Italy on Sunday, it appears highly likely that Saturday's result will leave Les Bleus out of reach when the two sides meet in the final round of matches next weekend.

The tit-for-tat started in the seventh minute when Parks converted from 40-plus metres and subsequent England pressure was rewarded eight minutes later when Wilkinson levelled.

Advantage

The home side regained the advantage straight from the restart, however, and with Max Evans having taken Parks' crossfield kick well - but not well enough to cross the line - they strove for the five points after winning a penalty.

Scotland's drive proved unsuccessful but they gained another penalty just moments later, Parks this time settling for an easy three points.

Andy Robinson's side were guilty of over-enthusiasm in the 24th minute when, having turned the ball over, Hugo Southwell's pass to the overlapping Nick De Luca instead found touch.

Tempers boiled over on the half hour after Euan Murray conceded a penalty - Dylan Hartley swinging for opposite number Ross Ford, with Steve Borthwick then wagging a finger at Chris Cusiter when both captains were pulled to one side by referee Marius Jonker - Wilkinson converting the penalty to level once more.

Parks tried for a couple of wildly speculative drop goals earlier in the first half but finally got his chance to find the target one minute before the interval - the preceding scrum albeit repeatedly collapsing over a two-minute period.

England drew level once more just one minute into the second half when Wilkinson put away his best effort yet after Jim Hamilton's boot obstructed Danny Care in the ruck.

It was to prove Wilkinson's last contribution, with Flood soon replacing the dazed number 10 after he banged his head in the wake of a typically committed tackle on Evans.

Flood handed England the lead for the first time with a penalty in the 50th minute - Ben Foden also replacing Delon Armitage as Martin Johnson looked for fresh impetus.

Instead, the penalties continued as Parks kicked his third before missing the chance to give Scotland the lead when the ball struck the upright.

The home side then had their best scoring opportunity of the match but, striving to pick up a pass from Parks on the right flank, Kelly Brown instead suffered a nasty head-on collision with Ugo Monye.

Play was halted while both players were treated - Brown managing to walk off but Monye having to depart on a stretcher - Flood eventually clearing England's lines but missing a long-range penalty just short of the hour.

England appeared poised for a breakthrough after being awarded a free-kick in front of Scotland's posts moments later but ultimately settled for another three points after losing possession whilst playing the advantage.

No surprise

There was no surprise when Parks was soon faced with yet another three-pointer, although it almost led to a try after Allan Jacobsen was the quickest to react when the fly-half again struck an upright.

Nevertheless, three more points soon drew Scotland back to 15-15 and though play opened up in the closing minutes, neither side came close to crossing.

Instead, Flood was presented with two chances to steal the win for England - the Leicester man first coming up just short with a very long-range penalty attempt before a late drop goal effort was charged down.