by England have studied 1,000 Scotland line-outs and selected the brains of backline colleagues Finn Russell from Bath as part of their efforts to snap a four-year losing streak in the Calcutta Cup on Saturday.
Kevin Sinfield also issued a rallying call on Tuesday afternoon, backing George Martin to “leave a mark on somebody” at Murrayfield and warning England’s future opponents not to write off Manu Tuilagi.
Russell has been a scourge on England in recent years. The Eagles are unbeaten in five consecutive Six Nations games against the Auld Enemy, having won in 2020. It started four wins in that streak, as well as the 38-38 draw five years ago, and he made a 63-45 win for the Barbarians at Twickenham in 2018 for good measure.
Ben Spencer, Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh, all of Russell’s teammates at Bath, have been enlisted by the England coaches to provide an insight into the player’s habits, while defense coach Felix Jones has analyzed the striker’s historic movements. As well as this interesting strategic dilemma, there is an element of the inevitable “niggle” as England look for a third win in a row to start the Six Nations.
“It would be foolish not to talk to them [the Bath players] and ask them questions about it [Russell] – and it would be silly not to ask them about his favorite plays,” Sinfield said.
“Felix has run about 1,000 line-outs in Scotland over the last 10 years. So the homework is done, but are we good enough at the weekend to do the work? That is why there is interest in this game and around test rugby.
“There are two good teams coming together at the weekend who know each other a bit and have done so for some time. We are highly regarded. We expect some niggle, but I like the Scotsman. With the [charity] work I have done with Doddie [Weir]The Scots have been very good to me and I’m looking forward to going to Murrayfield and getting an experience that I haven’t had before, in that boiler.”
England expect Blair Kinghorn to return at full-back as part of Scotland’s balanced, cohesive and dangerous back line. Duhan van der Merwe, the devastating left wing, scored two great tries last year as his side prevailed 29-23. Russell, however, is Scotland’s ringmaster.
“The coaching staff here have done their homework – and there’s a lot of homework to do on him, by the way, he’s a great guy and he’s a great player,” Sinfield added. “We have no doubt that he will come up with something very special at some point during the game on Saturday. Maybe he would come up with some of them. Can we be good enough to deny some of that?”
Danny Care, the former scrum-half with his 99th cap, explained how Russell will challenge England’s dominance during what will be a decisive game.
“You go through his clips and you see some of his magic,” Care said. “He’s a great player, one of the best players in the world, he tries things that other people don’t dare to try and if he gets things wrong he doesn’t go into a shell, he’ll keep coming. We have seen that in games over the last few years when he was instrumental in beating England.
“We know how good he is; it is their lynchpin, their talisman and we must stand up and defend against it. In the past we’ve been great for 75 minutes, then off for five and Van der Merwe goes and scores a try or Finn does something magical. It’s going to take an 85-minute performance to win this game and he’s one of the big threats we’ll have to face to try and nullify him.
“The big thing we talked about is everybody being alive all the time because you could be the 10th man in the line of defense and thinking you’re OK to step up and hit a and then the ball is coming to you.”
England will be boosted after two emphatic victories over Italy and Wales, with Martin set for his first Test since last October’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa.
“He’s big, physical, aggressive,” Sinfield said of 22-year-old Martin, who he coached at Leicester. “He’s a great ball carrier, and he’s one of our best defenders.
“You guys saw in the semi-final last year when he stood out on the international stage against some of the worst, worst starters in the world where he was and among them.
“Whether he’s looked at as second tier or top six, there’s some real quality to us. Like our center partnership and selection, it means Steve [Borthwick] he’s got a few headaches, and that’s what we want our head coach to have.”
“[Martin] the kind of guy who wants to be pointed in the right direction,” Sinfield added. “He’s going to have a great career. If he is selected at the weekend I have no doubt he will leave a mark on someone. He is already a great player, but he will get better and better.”
The respective returns of Lawrence and Tuilagi give England the opportunity to select a more direct runner in the middle to, as Sinfield put it, “kick the door down”. Sinfield believes the 32-year-old Tuilagi has a lot more to offer whether he makes this weekend’s final or not.
“I would definitely say this: don’t write him off just yet. He’s still had some very good years, and he’s had a lot to do with the way we go forward and what we’re doing here.”
