Struggling Russell still seen as biggest threat to England

Courtney Lawes insists England must prevent Finn Russell from leaving his imprint on Saturday's Calcutta Cup showdown if Scotland are to be toppled at Murrayfield.
England's Nathan Hughes (left) and Scotland's Finn Russell (centre) tussle along with team-mates at Twickenham in March last year. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PAEngland's Nathan Hughes (left) and Scotland's Finn Russell (centre) tussle along with team-mates at Twickenham in March last year. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA
England's Nathan Hughes (left) and Scotland's Finn Russell (centre) tussle along with team-mates at Twickenham in March last year. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA

Russell has retained his place in Gregor Townsend’s starting XV despite an inauspicious start to the NatWest 6 Nations, struggling against Wales and eventually being replaced by Greig Laidlaw at fly-half for the victory over France.

The Racing 92-bound playmaker is deadly when on song, leaving Lawes to call for him to be shackled by Eddie Jones’s tournament favourites right from the start.

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“Finn is a confidence player so if you let him get confidence early then he’s probably going to have a good game,” the Northampton forward said. “Obviously most or 99 per cent of the games you play in you are going to target the nine and 10 just because they run the game for the opposition.

England's Jonathan Joseph. Picture: Adam Davy/PAEngland's Jonathan Joseph. Picture: Adam Davy/PA
England's Jonathan Joseph. Picture: Adam Davy/PA

“Are we going to target him any more than any other 10? No, but we are going to target him.

“He is very good player, a quality player and we don’t want him to have a sniff at all.”

Russell’s Scotland place was in “no doubt” against England, according to head coach Townsend.

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Russell is seen as one of the leaders of Townsend’s Scotland team and was highly influential in an impressive autumn.

Scotland coach, Gregor Townsend. Picture: Lynne Cameron/PA WireScotland coach, Gregor Townsend. Picture: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire
Scotland coach, Gregor Townsend. Picture: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire

However, the 25-year-old has struggled to live up to the hype in the Six Nations so far, struggling against both Wales and France.

Russell has come in for criticism for his performances, but Townsend is firmly behind his man after naming an unchanged XV to face England.

“There was no doubt he would start,” said Townsend. “He played well a lot in the France game.

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“He did have a couple of kicking errors, and that happens, but a lot of the positive play we had in both halves, Finn was a part of that.

England's Jonathan Joseph. Picture: Adam Davy/PAEngland's Jonathan Joseph. Picture: Adam Davy/PA
England's Jonathan Joseph. Picture: Adam Davy/PA

“He’s our attack leader, he’s an outstanding stand-off and very competitive and determined to work on the areas he needs to work on. He’s going to be a key player for us this weekend.”

“People are very keen to look at one error and say he’s not playing well.

“A lot of parts of his game are working in well and he’s put in a lot of effort to make sure he’s playing well this weekend.”

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A win at Murrayfield would be a huge lift to the Scotland team and an important stage in their development after being thrashed in the reverse fixture at Twickenham last year.

Scotland coach, Gregor Townsend. Picture: Lynne Cameron/PA WireScotland coach, Gregor Townsend. Picture: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire
Scotland coach, Gregor Townsend. Picture: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire

However, they find themselves up against Eddie Jones’s ruthless England side who have lost just one game in the last two years.

A defeat would all but end Scotland’s title hopes, and Townsend’s hand has been boosted ahead of the must-win tie by the return to fitness of WP Nel and Tim Swinson, both of whom are named on the bench along with Nick Grigg.

However he remains aware that his side has to play better than they did last time out in a scrappy 32-26 win over France if they are to stand a chance at the weekend.

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“We will have to play better,” he admitted. “We know England are a bigger challenge than France currently.

“They’re in great form and we won’t find as many opportunities, but we have to keep looking for them. We have to defend better and put even more effort into the whole game, especially the second half.”

England’s Jonathan Joseph, meanwhile, accepts that his outside centre duel with Ben Te’o means his England place is always shrouded in uncertainty.

Eddie Jones will reveal this morning who is to partner Owen Farrell in midfield.

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Te’o’s powerful ball-carrying was preferred for the rout of Italy but, six days later, Jones opted for the slicker footwork and defensive expertise of Joseph.

The decision at outside centre is the only outstanding team selection issue for the trip across the border and Joseph knows the requirements of the chosen gameplan could work against him.

With the George Ford and Farrell axis emerging as one of England’s strengths under Jones, making the pair all but undroppable, outside centre offers the opportunity to adjust the tactical approach of the threequarters.

“The competition is always right up there and it’s been good with Ben. We both offer slightly different things,” said Joseph.

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“We’re friends off the field but at the same time competing on it. It depends on each player, but I’m one who is never quite sure if he’s playing until the team has been named. If Eddie has a reason why you might not be involved, you have to take that on board.

“It might be constructive criticism, it might be that he wants to look at another combination. You have to put your trust in him, he’s your coach and his word is final.”