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For years, England have had a problem. Be it at Twickenham or Murrayfield, in conditions dry or dreich, come the Calcutta Cup clash, they have been unable to stop Scotland\u2019s mischief-makers in chief. Amid fluctuating fortunes for each side, England getting cut to ribbons in this fixture has been a familiar, predictable theme in a run of six defeats in seven.<\/p>\n
From Duhan van der Merwe\u2019s wondrous weave between would-be tacklers at Twickenham two years ago way back to Huw Jones\u2019s length-of-the-field classic in Edinburgh in 2018, Scotland have found a way to cut England deeply more often than just about any other side. Hulking wing Van der Merwe has six tries against the Auld Enemy; carving centre Jones has five.<\/p>\n
Pulling England strings throughout their recent run has been one of the game\u2019s best puppet-masters. \u201cScotland are very smart in the way they play and they have a 10 in Finn Russell who many people say is arguably the best fly-half in the world at the moment,\u201d Steve Borthwick said on Tuesday. \u201cHe has a very varied kicking game and a really attacking kicking game. We have to be very sharp to make sure that space is covered because he can find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finn Russell has had his hands on the Calcutta Cup regularly over the last few years (Getty)Russell has been the primary painter of England\u2019s recent pain in this storied rivalry: arcing that lovely rainbow to free Jones in 2018; illustrating the remarkable comeback from 31-7 down in 2019; forcing an exposed Luke Cowan-Dickie into an unedifying error with two picture-perfect cross-kicks in 2022.<\/p>\n
By his standards, the start to this campaign has been below par. A slightly sloppy showing against Italy featured an uncharacteristically poor decision to throw a pass that was intercepted, before the 32-year-old was unable to exert his influence against Ireland and then forced off after a nasty head clash with teammate Darcy Graham. Russell will have to come through return-to-play protocols before being declared fit to feature, but England are very much planning to have to take on their tormentor again.<\/p>\n
Borthwick can count upon some inside knowledge of the fly-half within his squad. His Bath half-back partner and captain, Ben Spencer, is part of the squad but it is perhaps centre Ollie Lawrence, who can best explain Russell\u2019s strengths. Lawrence unites with Henry Slade for a 13th straight Test in England\u2019s midfield having thrived since Russell arrived at The Rec at the start of last season. <\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes Finn is in his own world and he can make things happen that not everybody else can see,\u201d Lawrence explains of his friend-turned foe. \u201cOne of his strengths is that he can create something out of nothing. He\u2019s a skill player, he\u2019s got a great passing game, great kicking game and we\u2019ve looked at it and we\u2019ve all added our bit from us knowing him at Bath.<\/p>\n
Ollie Lawrence and Finn Russell are teammates at Bath (Getty)\u201cBut the biggest thing for us is around what\u2019s outside of him as well and stopping the momentum that he gets on the back of the forwards and their carries and that will all add to hopefully slowing down his game and limiting his options.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a perception of Russell being one of rugby\u2019s great off-the-cuff improvisers but, as detailed in The Independent ahead of the start of this Six Nations, the Scotland fly-half is diligent in his preparation, reviewing footage and data to sculpt a gameplan. He will have watched closely how England\u2019s new defensive system has functioned across rounds one and two, with Slade continuing to occupy the 13 channel despite a paring back of the aggressive \u201chammer\u201d blitz defence utilised last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I met him, I was similar in thinking he was a feel-based player but he sees pictures and understands them because of the analysis he\u2019s done,\u201d Lawrence says of Russell. \u201cHe can do things off the cuff but he is able to execute things that he\u2019s already seen pictures of, that teams have done before, and he\u2019s world-class at doing it.<\/p>\n
Finn Russell studies opposing defences hard to find fissures and faults (Getty)\u201cIt is going to be a challenge going up against him but it was the same last week with [Antoine] Dupont, another world-class player. If you put pressure on them then you can force them to make errors and that\u2019s the plan on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawrence sought to play down the individual duel between Russell and Fin Smith, who have tussled on the Twickenham turf before. In last year\u2019s Premiership final, the Scot won the battle but Bath lost the war as Northampton took the title.<\/p>\n
Smith and Lawrence are also past colleagues of Van der Merwe\u2019s, the trio helping Worcester to Premiership Rugby Cup silverware just a matter of months before the club\u2019s sad demise. The wing is a player of almost unmatched physical prowess, allying sprinting speed to sheer bulk and bite in the carry. Perhaps his closest comparison in this competition is Ireland\u2019s James Lowe, who exploited England\u2019s undersized edge defenders to devastating effect in Dublin.<\/p>\n
Duhan van der Merwe has run rampant against England over the last few years (Getty)Lawrence is very aware of the need to shut down the space available to Van der Merwe. \u201cWe just gave him the ball [at Worcester], to be honest, and said: \u2018Go on, off you go.\u2019 He\u2019s always been a quick person. He loves throwing people off him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to say too much but there are definitely areas that we can go after and we look forward to trying to do that on Saturday. As a player, with him and watching him, it\u2019s great to watch. He has done well in a Scotland shirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to go against these types of players. You want them to be playing against the best players. We have great wings in our team and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how they go at the weekend and get into the battle and hopefully close down as much of his space and time. Then we\u2019ll see how he is after the game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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