England 22 Scotland 16:Only Ireland stand between England and a Grand Slam after Martin Johnson's side scraped home against a rejuvenated Scotland this afternoon. The English chariot will roll into Dublin next Saturday seeking a first clean sweep since 2003.

From an English perspective, that is the good news. The real story, however, was supplied by the glowering features of Johnson who watched his side splutter their way to an unconvincing triumph in the scrappiest and tightest of matches.

Where was the free-flowing, creative England who had beaten Wales, Italy and France? Where was the explosive running of Chris Ashton and the control of Toby Flood and Ben Youngs?

Where was the confidence which had seen the optimism rise in England ranks that this was a side with a great future ahead of them, a side with dreams once more of World Cup glory? None of it was on show at Twickenham, even if Tom Croft’s second-half try and Jonny Wilkinson’s conversion eventually saw them squeeze home.

Yet let us give credit to Scotland. They had lost their previous three matches. They were desperate to regain some pride and at least they took bundles of that home north of the border.

It was the first time Scotland coach Andy Robinson had been through the gates of Twickenham in a professional capacity since he lost his job as England coach in 2006. On that score England knew what they faced. A man of passion and nous, one with a score to settle against the nation which had discarded him.

The way Scotland began was typical of Robinson at work. High tempo. Looking to disrupt and spoil England’s possession and the Scottish back row of Nathan Hines and Kelly Brown and John Barclay were ubiquitous. In the first half the tactics worked.

Even though England enjoyed 63 per cent of the possession they struggled to find the

flowing rugby which had seen them win their first three matches in the tournament. The scrum was solid, the lineout efficient and flanker James Haskell and number eight Nick Easter, in particular, were inspiring.

Yet the gaps would not appear. That is how it should be in Test rugby. It is not supposed to be easy. Matches cannot always be won with running rugby and at a canter. Sometimes it just has to be a grind.

Let’s face it, the stray fox who ran up and down the pitch before kick-off gave the crowd more entertainment than the players in the first 40 minutes. Much of England’s early problems were to do with Flood’s inability to exert the sort of influence at number 10 which has kept Wilkinson out of the side.

Flood’s kicking lacked direction and his running did not have the incision of late. All England’s points, however, came via his three penalties with Chris Paterson replying with two of his own while Ruaridh Jackson slotted over a drop goal on the stroke of half-time to level the scores at 9-9.

At half-time Matt Banahan came on for Mike Tindall, who had picked up an ankle injury. The Bath centre was immediately in the action, a thrusting surge through the centre resulting in his shoulder crashing into the jaw of would-be tackler Kelly Brown.

It was a sickening collision with Brown apparently losing consciousness and being taken off on a stretcher following lengthy treatment. A reminder of the game’s inherent dangers.

The game livened up, although England needed help from Barclay who was sin-binned for knocking the ball out of Danny Care’s hands and Flood added the points from the penalty.

In a match in which the rugby was rarely memorable French referee Romain Piote then added to the drama when he went down with a calf injury and was replaced by his assistant, Jerome Garces. Johnson clearly felt like a few replacements himself, making a four-man substitution which included the arrival of Wilkinson for Flood.

At last pace and precision was injected and Tom Croft crashed over for England’s only try after 68 minutes. Scotland could have folded. They didn’t. They came back and Max Evans went over to make it a tense finale until Wilkinson, who else, slotted over the late

penalty which sealed the victory.

Not pretty. Short on entertainment. But it was a win. And the Grand Slam is still on. At least that is something for Johnson to smile about.