Six Nations wrapped up by England rout

England captain Martin Corry picked up the oldest trophy in international rugby at Twickenham tonight.

But while the crowd courteously roared their appreciation rarely can the Calcutta Cup have seemed quite so meaningless.

Jamie Noon scored a hat-trick of touchdowns to claim the man-of-the-match prize as England ran in seven tries against arguably the worst Scotland team in living memory.

And while at times it was wonderfully entertaining, the shambolic tackling and persistent errors of both teams were also solid proof that, Italy aside of course, here undoubtedly were the worst two sides in the RBS 6 Nations Championship this season.

It did not start too well for Charlie Hodgson when he missed a penalty flush in front of posts 40 yards out.
 
It was the sort of diffident slice guaranteed to shatter the confidence but if the fly-half's nerves were twitchy then the scything break he conjured up barely two minutes later was the perfect antidote.

He skipped inside opposite number Gordon Ross before timing the pass perfectly for Noon to race between the posts.

Hodgson's granny could have kicked the conversion, though the successful kick brought one of the biggest cheers of the evening.

Steve Borthwick replaced Ben Kay who was struggling with an ankle injury and while Chris Paterson got the Scottish side of the scoreboard ticking with a routine penalty it was becoming increasingly obvious that when it came to defence Scotland's midfield in particular were guilty of going AWOL.

It has been their biggest failing this championship and at times tonight it was little short of embarrassing.

Noon took full advantage, barging his way through Paterson and two more blue shirts to record his second try, though rarely will he encounter a softer centre in the international arena.

For the first time in this Six Nations England's back row functioned as a collective unit and what a difference that made.

Wasps flanker Joe Worsley, in particular, played as if a British Lions place was at stake, seemingly covering every blade of grass and making shuddering big hits.

It was no surprise when he was on hand to finish off a narrow side move, his strength allowing him to ride the challenge of second row Nathan Hines.

The unfortunate Iain Balshaw left the field after 30 minutes, to be replaced by Leicester's Ollie Smith, after suffering what appeared a nasty knee twist while off-loading in the tackle.

But England were so superior that the mounting injuries were a minor inconvenience.

Lewsey finished off another sweeping move and while Scotland wing Sean Lamont eventually breached the England defence for their first touchdown England took a deserved 26-10 lead in at the interval.

The England injury toll mounted when Lewis Moody stayed in the dressing room, to be replaced by Gloucester's Andy Hazell.

Four minutes later, however, the Scots hit back, a brilliant break from the superb Paterson leaving England's defence in tatters and allowing Andy Craig to run in for the touchdown.

The game was taking on a distinctly exhibition feel, full of open rugby but strewn with errors.

It was a strange mix of the best and the worst of international rugby, epitomised by three surreal minutes for England scrum-half Ellis.

First he scampered in at the corner for his first try for his country, then his woefully directed pass allowed Scotland number eight Simon Taylor to romp 40 yards for Scotland's third touchdown.

Still, England finished strongly, Noon crossing for his hat-trick and Mark Cueto completing the rout.

It left Corry with a date with the Calcutta Cup with much work to do to be Six Nations kings again.