Wales icon Dan Biggar disagreed with his fellow ITV pundits over one particularly significant piece of George Ford play during England’s Calcutta Cup loss to Scotland
Dan Biggar was critical of George Ford’s decision-making during England’s Six Nations defeat to Scotland(Image: Jan Kruger, Getty Images for Sale Sharks)
George Ford’s missed drop goal attempt during England’s 31-20 defeat to Scotland proved a pivotal moment in their first loss of the 2026 Six Nations. The incident sparked heated debate among ITV’s punditry team at Murrayfield, with Wales legend Dan Biggar taking a different view to his colleagues.
The crucial moment came in the 52nd minute when Matt Fagerson blocked Ford’s drop goal effort just inside Scotland’s 22 before collecting the loose ball. He swiftly passed to centre Huw Jones, who raced 60 metres upfield to extend Scotland’s advantage to what proved an insurmountable margin.
Former Scotland back-rower John Barclay described the block as a “huge momentum swing”, arriving just as England were beginning to apply pressure in opposition territory. Rather than reducing the deficit to a single-score game, Steve Borthwick’s men found themselves trailing 31-13 while still down to 14 players following Henry Arundell’s 20-minute red card.
England legend Jonny Wilkinson suggested Ford might have positioned himself deeper to protect against the charge-down but backed the overall decision to attempt the drop goal. However, former Ospreys and Northampton playmaker Biggar disagreed with his fellow analysts, arguing England ought to have persisted in their efforts to go over the line.
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“I actually slightly disagree with the lads,” said Biggar, who earned 112 caps for Wales before announcing his international retirement in 2023. “I actually thought that England had enough momentum 10 metres out from the line to keep playing it. And if they buy a penalty, then maybe that’s different – take the three points.
“I actually thought there was enough in that England attack to just keep going, keep going, keep going. As it turns out, hindsight is a wonderful thing. But Fagerson did a great job getting out to George Ford and snuffled it.
“But I just thought there were probably another two, three, four phases to buy a penalty, twist their arm and be a bit more adventurous.”
Plenty of supporters might share that view, although it’s understandable why Ford chose to put points on the scoreboard at that moment. England were still a man down, though their numbers were about to be replenished as the clock on Arundell’s 20-minute red card was nearly up.
Trailing 24-16 with a little more than 20 minutes remaining, the match would have still bee very much in the balance. However, Fagerson’s intervention, blocking the ball before offloading to Jones, only increased the pressure on England.
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As Biggar highlighted in his analysis, decisions always appear clearer in retrospect. Nevertheless, the outcome means England’s Grand Slam aspirations have been extinguished, leaving France as the sole unbeaten side remaining in the tournament.
Scotland’s victory at Murrayfield briefly propelled them to the summit of the standings following Ireland’s narrow triumph over Italy in Dublin earlier on Saturday. England, for now, hold onto second position but look certain to drop down after Wales welcome Les Bleus to Cardiff later on Sunday.
Borthwick has limited time to weigh up his selections before welcoming Ireland for the third round of the Six Nations next Saturday. Yet significant questions will surround the fly-half position, with Northampton’s Fin Smith pressing his case to regain a place in the starting XV.
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