England examined 1,000 players in Scotland and picked the brains of Finn Russell’s back-row colleagues at Bath as part of their bid to break a four-year losing streak in the Calcutta Cup on Saturday.
Kevin Sinfield also called a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, backing George Martin to “make his mark on someone” at Murrayfield and warning England’s future rivals not to write off Manu Tuilagi.
Russell has been a thorn in England’s side in recent years. The fly-half is personally unbeaten in five consecutive Six Nations matches against Auld Enemy and missed the 2020 defeat. He has started four wins in that order, as well as the 38-38 draw five years ago, with a 63-45 victory for the Barbarians at Twickenham in 2018 for good measure.
Russell’s Bath team-mates Ben Spencer, Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh were enlisted by England’s coaches to shed light on the playmaker’s habits, while defense coach Felix Jones analyzed his historic kicking moves. Alongside this fascinating strategic challenge, an element of ‘giggle’ is also inevitable as England bid for a third successive win to start the Six Nations.
“It would be stupid not to talk to them [the Bath players] and ask them questions about it [Russell] – and you’d be stupid not to ask them about their favorite games, Sinfield said.
“Felix, Scotland have been through close to 1,000 dismissals in the last 10 years. So the homework has been done but are we good enough to do the job on the weekend? That’s why there is interest in this game and Test rugby.
“Two good teams who know a bit about each other and have been successful for a while are coming together at the weekend. We’re very respectful. Expect some giggles but I quite like the Scots. With [charity] My work with Doddie [Weir]”The Scots have been very good to me and I’m looking forward to going to Murrayfield and having an experience in that cauldron that I haven’t had before.”
England expect Blair Kinghorn to return as a full-back as part of a balanced, cohesive and dangerous Scotland backline. Destructive left winger Duhan van der Merwe scored two superb tries last year as his side won 29-23. Russell is Scotland’s ringmaster.
“The coaching staff here have done their homework – and there’s a lot of homework to be done on him, by the way he’s a phenomenal guy and a great player,” Sinfield added. “We’re under no illusions that he’ll come up with something pretty special at some point in Saturday’s game. He might find a few of them. Can we be good enough to reject some of those?”
Experienced scrum-half Danny Care, who is set to make his 99th appearance, has revealed how Russell will challenge England’s alertness in what is sure to be a decisive game.
“When you watch his clips, you see some of his magic,” Care said. “He’s a great player, one of the best in the world, he tries things that other people don’t dare to try and if things go wrong he doesn’t go into his shell, he’ll keep coming. We have seen him be effective in beating England in matches over the last few years.
“We know how good he is; it is their cornerstone, their talisman, and we must stand up and defend it. In the past we’ve played great for 75 minutes, then had a break for five minutes and Van der Merwe went and tried a point or Finn did something magical. It will take an 85-minute performance to win this match and he is one of the biggest threats that we must respect but try to neutralize.
“The biggest thing we talked about was everybody being alive all the time because you can be the 10th man on the defensive line and think you’re good for a while, think you’re going to get a shot and the ball is going to come to you.”
Buffs will boost England after two tight wins against Italy and Wales; Martin is preparing for his first Test since the World Cup semi-final against South Africa last October.
“He’s big, physical and aggressive,” Sinfield said of the 22-year-old Martin, whom he coaches at Leicester. “He’s a great ball carrier and one of our best defenders.
“You saw first-hand in the semi-finals last year that he really stood out on the international stage against the biggest, baddest, aggressive forwards in the world he was in.
“Whether it’s second place or sixth place, there’s real quality here for us. Like our center partnership and selection, this means Steve [Borthwick] “There are a few headaches and that’s what we want our head coach to have.”
“[Martin] He’s the type of guy who just wants to point in the right direction,” Sinfield added. “He’s going to have a great career. I have no doubt that if he is chosen over the weekend he will leave a mark on someone. “He is already a top-level player, but he will get better and better.”
The returns of Lawrence and Tuilagi respectively allow England to opt for a more direct runner in the center and, as Sinfield puts it, “kick in the door”. Sinfield believes 32-year-old Tuilagi has a lot to offer whether he joins this weekend’s squad or not.
“I can say this without a doubt: Don’t write it off yet. “He still has a lot of good years ahead of him and he plays a big part in our progress and what we do here.”