STUART Hogg had said on the eve of the match that his team would need to produce an 80-minute performance to beat England.

They did exactly that to claim a thoroughly deserved victory, their first at Twickenham since 1983 and one of their finest all-round displays of recent decades.

Let us not tempt fate, but in this form, Hogg and his team-mates have to be contenders for the Six Nations title.

The creativity and self-confidence shown by Scotland were reminiscent of their game at the same venue in 1999, the last year in which they won the Championship.

The crucial difference, of course, was that they lost narrowly to England on that occasion, just failing to do enough to claim the win. Here, they did more than just enough – they controlled the game.

England coach Eddie Jones had tried to sow the seeds of doubt into the minds of the visiting team by questioning their ability to see out a victory if they were still in contention with 15 minutes to go. Jones got his answer to that one, all right, as Scotland saw out almost all of the closing stages on the front foot.

“It’s got to be up there with the best-ever results in our history, certainly in my playing and coaching career,” was the verdict of Gregor Townsend, a man not given to hyperbole.

The Scotland coach and his assistants got their game plan spot on, and their players executed it with clinical precision.

If the gap on the scoreboard does not quite suggest a gulf between the teams, that was in part because eight points were lost through missed kicks – a conversion and a penalty from Finn Russell and another penalty attempt by Hogg – while other scoring chances either went a-begging or were thwarted by the home defence.

Duhan van der Merwe, for example, was within inches of collecting a high ball from Russell in the in-goal area, while Hamish Watson was held up on the line by the combined efforts of Ellis Genge, Jamie George and Tom Curry.

England, by contrast, hardly had even a half-chance to add to the two first-half penalties from their captain, Owen Farrell. Most of their backs were spectators for much of the game, while their forwards toiled for front-foot ball.

Maro Itoje verged on the magnificent, particularly given how poorly the men around him in white shirts were playing, but even he was outshone by Hogg, by Van der Merwe, and by Scotland’s debutant centre Cameron Redpath.

Still, it was the England lock whose indiscipline produced the opening score of the game, when Russell was on target from in front of the posts after the referee had penalised Itoje for not releasing.

It was far from the only penalty conceded by England in the first 20 minutes or so, and in the end Andrew Brace had to show them a card, sending Billy Vunipola to the bin for a high tackle on Russell.

Scotland’s first attempt to make the extra man counted ended in that thwarted foray from Watson, and then came Van der Merwe’s near miss.

But the pressure was mounting, and with half-an- hour gone the winger did get on the scoresheet, using his immense physical power to break Mark Wilson’s tackle and shrug off two others before touching down.

Russell’s missed conversion meant the score stayed at 8-0, but not for long, as England went on to enjoy their best spell of the game between then and half time.

Farrell’s first penalty came after Rory Sutherland failed to move away after a tackle, his second after Russell had stuck out a leg in an apparent bid to trip up Ben Youngs.

The Scotland stand-off was yellow-carded for that offence, adding to the sense of a momentum shift.

But England could not take further advantage in the closing minute of the first half, and the Scots responded in the best way possible in the opening stages of the second by going on the offensive.

Van der Merwe again came close, then an excellent break by Hogg threatened to set up a try, but in the end they settled for a penalty, scored by the newly-returned Russell.

After the playmaker had missed a chance to turn his team’s 11-6 lead into 14-6, Scotland opted to send their next penalty to touch close to the left corner. George Turner, enjoying a dynamic first outing in the Six Nations, made good progress from the line-out maul, but England won the turnover.

On another day, in front of full stands, and with a team who had played together for a few weeks, the home side might just have been inspired by that moment into rediscovering their best form when it mattered most.

But if England’s tiring minds were able even to conceive of such a recovery, Scotland had other ideas.

In seasons past, Jones’ suggestion that they would be spooked by the chance of a major scalp might well have held water. But, buoyed in part by their win in Wales late last year, Scotland maintained their self-belief to the end.

“You never atone for a game like that,” a despondent England coach said of his under-performing team after the match. “This stays with you for a long time.”

It will stay with Scotland and their supporters for far longer – and for altogether different reasons.

Scorers, England – Pens: Farrell 2.

Scotland – Try: Van der Merwe. Pens: Russell 2.

England: E Daly; A Watson (M Malins 76), H Slade, O Lawrence (G Ford 69), J May; O Farrell (captain), B Youngs (D Robson 56); E Genge (B Obano 72), J George (L Cowan-Dickie 56), W Stuart (H Williams 63), M Itoje, J Hill, M Wilson (C Lawes 52), T Curry, W Vunipola (B Earl 66).

Scotland: S Hogg (captain); S Maitland (H Jones 72), C Harris, C Redpath, D van der Merwe; F Russell, A Price (S Steele 69); R Sutherland (O Kebble 64), G Turner (D Cherry 67), Z Fagerson (W Nel 64), S Cummings, J Gray, J Ritchie (R Gray 66), H Watson, M Fagerson (G Graham 64). Unused substitute: J van der Walt.

Referee: A Brace (Ireland).