Resurgent Scots seize Calcutta Cup

IT POURED down for most of the 80 minutes, but nothing could spoil the joy across Scotland last night as the nation celebrated a memorable victory over the Auld Enemy.

Frank Hadden's team won back the Calcutta Cup after a hard fought 15-9 triumph over England at Murrayfield.

The poor weather did not seem to bother any of the Scots in the 67,000 crowd who saw their team defy the odds to defeat the World Cup finalists.

Chris Paterson racked up 12 points with four flawless penalties and victory was sealed with an emphatic display by a supremely strong forward line. England's miserable afternoon was summed up when their talismanic fly-half, Jonny Wilkinson, was substituted before the end of the game.

After being presented with the Calcutta Cup by Princess Anne, the delighted Scotland captain and man of the match Mike Blair said: "We are just overjoyed that we managed to do it. It was a typical Scottish performance full of guts and determination. It's a very proud day for me and everyone in Scotland."

The victory was Scotland's first in a previously disappointing run of Six Nations Championship games.

Head coach Hadden hailed the Murrayfield crowd and took a swipe at Scotland's critics after the game.

He said: "We had a lot of supporters out there; we've got a lot of critics as well. That win definitely wasn't for the critics – that was for the support we received over the past couple of weeks."

'All Scotland is bursting with pride'

Marc Horne and Gareth Rose

MURRAYFIELD was impregnable, coach Frank Hadden breathed a huge sigh of relief and fans who began partying almost from kick-off were able to continue their fun late into the night as Scotland triumphed once again over England in their Edinburgh stronghold.

A saltire made of 20,000 song-sheets – raised in harmony to the strains of 'Flower of Scotland' – and columns of flame from pitchside burners that greeted the Scottish side heightened passions before the start of the game. The intensity never left the men in blue for the rest of the afternoon.

An emotional Chris Paterson, the hero on the pitch after kicking 12 of Scotland's 15 points, summed up the scale of the achievement for players, staff and deliriously happy supporters, saying the victory ranked among the team's proudest moments against the auld enemy. "It's a special occasion when Scotland play England at Murrayfield. All the hard times we go through, this is a special, special occasion," he said.

"I'm absolutely delighted for the players who have taken a lot of stick.

"Frank Hadden and the coaching staff have had as much as we've had, but this makes it worthwhile for us, for the supporters, and especially for the coaches."

Head coach Hadden, his position under pressure after Scotland's poor start to the Six Nations Championship, hailed the Murrayfield crowd and took a swipe at Scotland's critics.

"I'm just really delighted for the long-suffering supporters," he said.

"That win definitely wasn't for the critics – that was for the support we received over the past couple of weeks.

"It's been difficult. It's not easy to maintain your confidence with that level of negativity. That's what made today's performance all the more remarkable."

First Minister Alex Salmond said Scotland's rugby team had "done the nation proud" after they lifted the Calcutta Cup.

Salmond, who was at the game, said: "It was a wonderful performance from the team to win the Calcutta Cup.

"I'm delighted for Frank Hadden that he's guided Scotland to such an important victory.

"That is the second successive time we have come out on top against England at Murrayfield, and I know how much the win means to all the fans."

Sport Minister Stewart Maxwell praised the team's "fantastic" performance. "It was full of passion, energy and an unwavering determination to win," he said. "All of Scotland is bursting with pride."

After the cup had been lifted, jubilant fans spilled out of Murrayfield and onto the streets, dancing, singing and cheering.

Fans who watched the match in pubs were no less buoyant. Grant Hughes, 18, a Scottish student who lives in Edinburgh, had watched the game with several mates – Scots and English – said: "The atmosphere was really good. We always get up for it against England; we always show great pride. If it had been anyone else I would not have been as confident we were going to win."

When the heavens opened and the rain came down, a few more seasoned Scottish supporters also started to suspect it might be their day after all.

"I didn't think we had a hope until I saw the rain," said Alex Borthwick, 54, from Tranent.

"The last time we beat them it was chucking it down."

After watching the game in a packed-out Three Sisters pub in Edinburgh's Cowgate, he added: "It was brilliant. The atmosphere was the best I've experienced in my life – the humour, the camaraderie. There was no hassle. The English and the Scots all got on together."

Also watching on the big screen in the pub's rain-soaked courtyard was Malcolm Maclean from Paisley. "I'm not really a rugby fan, but when it comes to something like this it's a different story," he said.

"The atmosphere in Edinburgh is going to be unbelievable tonight. There's such a warm, welcoming feel to the city that I'm sure everyone will have a good night."

In Glasgow, the celebrations were no less joyous, with kilted students Stuart Fleming and Mike Chalmers waving a Lion Rampant flag in triumph in George Square.

Fleming, 19, from Dennistoun, said: "Stuffing England more than makes up for losing all the other games so far. I know it is really childish, but I can't wait to wind up my English flatmate when I get home."

Chalmers, 20, added: "I'm really chuffed for Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach.

"He has been getting a lot of stick recently and it would have got worse if we hadn't won today.

"Mike Blair (the captain] was brilliant for us, and Jason White's crunching tackle against Paul Sackey was a touch of class."

Bill McPherson, 68, of East Kilbride, said: "Scotland played with a lot of heart and fully deserved to win. It was backs-to-the-walls stuff at the end, but the Scots defence and tackling were very strong."

There was a party atmosphere in the packed Waxy O'Connor's pub in Glasgow city centre.

Borderer Chris Cathcart, 32, said: "It's wasn't the prettiest of games, but it was a fantastic result. Everyone went crazy when the final whistle blew.

"A lot of people thought that Scotland were going to get thumped, but I had a feeling that they could spring a surprise, and they did."

Anna Morrison, 22, from Glasgow's West End, was dressed for the occasion with a saltire painted on her face.

"It's been a brilliant day and I'm definitely going to stay out and celebrate."

Match hailed as clincher for future of 3D TV sport

A BBC experiment which saw yesterday's Calcutta Cup clash between Scotland and the Auld Enemy being screened lived in 3D has been hailed as the future of sports broadcasting.

Every tackle, scrum and ruck was shown in vivid reality to a group of TV sports executives.

The Six Nations Championship clash was chosen to test a technological breakthrough that could revolutionise the way in which we watch big sporting events.

Live BBC pictures from Murrayfield were beamed in high definition 3D via satellite to an audience watching on a cinema screen in a studio in Hammersmith, west London.

Representatives of British sport's governing bodies wore high-quality 3D glasses for an experience that enthusiasts claim was almost as good as being at the game.

The broadcast was the result of six months' testing by BBC Resources and The 3DFirm, a Richmond-based consortium of production specialists.

If it proves to be popular, the BBC hopes to beam big sporting events such as the World Cup and Olympic Games live in 3D to a network of cinemas.

Organisations such as the Scottish Rugby Union could sell tickets for 3D screenings at Murrayfield when the Scottish team is playing away, and 3D screenings could become a significant revenue generator for the BBC.

The corporation, which invested a six-figure sum in the Murrayfield trial, says 3D sport is cost-effective because it does not require special cameras.

A stereoscopic high definition signal is sent from three pitchside cameras. It goes via satellite to London, where it is converted through a 3D projection system.

The technology will soon be accessible in viewers' homes through a new generation of 3D television screens that do not require special glasses.

Philips has developed a prototype 132-inch 3D TV that offers an 'out of screen' experience. The first sets will be available for £10,000 this year. And new computer games are being designed for 3D screens. David Wooster, of The3DFirm, said: "This is a test so the big question is can we actually achieve live 3D sport? From what we have seen so far, 3D can place the audience in the stadium, as if they were actually there, giving a heightened sense of reality."

Viewers watching 3D rugby get a wider depth of vision and a greater sense of the players' positions. The technology could also help to judge controversial decisions.

Once mocked for its use of flimsy green and red glasses, 3D is regarded as the next platform for Hollywood. Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, is creating a 3D Tintin trilogy with Steven Spielberg. The 3DFirm hopes to screen live rock concerts in cinemas after the success of a U2 film using the technology.

Aashish Chandarana, BBC Sport's innovations executive, said: "We tried to do something no one's tried before. Editorially it was not a fast-cut TV experience but more the experience you'd get if you were at Murrayfield."

The 3DFirm will also assess the impact of alcohol on sports fans wearing 3-D glasses.

Wooster said: "You probably don't want to drink too much or you will get double vision."

It's a far cry from the first Scotland v England rugby clash which took place in Edinburgh in 1871.