Dan Biggar disagrees with ITV colleagues after England torn apart | Other | Sport
George Ford’s failed drop goal in the 31-20 loss to Scotland proved to be a major turning point in England’s first defeat of the 2026 Six Nations. And discussion over whether the England fly-half was right to go for the posts saw Wales icon Dan Biggar clash with his fellow ITV pundits at Murrayfield.
It was in the 52nd minute that Matt Fagerson charged down Ford’s attempted drop goal just inside the Scottish 22-metre line before regathering the ball himself. He quickly offloaded to centre Huw Jones, who motored 60 metres to put the Scots into an almost unassailable lead. Former Scotland flanker John Barclay referred to the charge-down as a “huge momentum swing” at a point where the visitors were just starting to build pressure in enemy territory. Instead of cutting the match down to a one-score game, Steve Borthwick’s side suddenly found themselves 31-13 down and with a man still off the pitch following Henry Arundell’s 20-minute red card.
England great Jonny Wilkinson noted Ford could have been sat deeper in order to safeguard himself, though he agreed with the drop-goal logic overall. That’s where Wales great Biggar diverged from his fellow pundits and suggested the Red Rose should have persevered in pursuit of the try line.
“I actually slightly disagree with the lads,” said the ex-Ospreys and Northampton fly-half. “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.
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“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.”
Many fans might agree with that logic, though one can understand why Ford prioritised points on the board at that stage of the game. England were still down to 14 men at the time, though the guests would soon be boosted given the timer on Arundell’s 20-minute red was due to expire soon.
At 24-16 down and with a little more than 20 minutes to go, the game would have been very much up for grabs. But as it turned out, Fagerson’s block and offload to Jones turned the screw even more.
As noted by Biggar in his breakdown, everything is easier to scrutinise with hindsight. However, the end result is England’s chances of a Grand Slam are now over, with France the only team left in the competition who have not yet tasted defeat.
Scotland’s win in Edinburgh temporarily lifted them to the top of the table after Ireland barely scraped a win over Italy in Dublin earlier on Saturday. England, meanwhile, remained in second place for the time being, with Wales poised to host Les Bleus later on Sunday.
Borthwick doesn’t have long to ponder his options ahead of hosting Ireland in the third round of the Six Nations next Saturday. However, there will be serious questions regarding who starts that fixture in England’s 10 shirt, with Northampton’s Fin Smith banging on the door in the hopes of reclaiming a starting spot.
