England and Scotland will go head-to-head at ‘Rugby HQ’ on Saturday evening in what should be a fiery clash between the two old foes.
England v Scotland | Saturday 22 February | Twickenham
To Win (80 Mins)England | Draw|Scotland Handicap England | Scotland
Are England truly back? Well, after months of narrowly losing fixtures in the dying minutes, they managed to snacth victory from the jaws of defeat in Round 2 of their 6 Nations campaign with a late try from Fin Baxter setting up Finn Smith to kick the winning conversion. That 26-25 victory came just a week after an impressive showing against Ireland in which the English claimed a losing bonus point as they went down 27-22 in Dublin.
So, they may be putting in solid shifts but are the English ready to truly compete again like they did during the early years of Eddie Jones’ stewardship? This clash against Scotland may well be the acid test for that.
The ‘Scots haven’t really shot the lights during the early salvos of their 6 Nations campaign registering a workmanlike 31-19 win over a dogged Italian outfit before going down 18-32 to Ireland at Murrayfield. In fairness to the ‘Scots, they had their backs against the wall early in the piece losing tasliman Finn Russell and electric winger Darcy Graham to head injuries. It was later revealed that Russell actually passed his HIA test but the Scottish coaching staff decided to chuck him back in the firing line. One suspects this is due to Russell’s importance to the ‘Scots, with the pivot a far superior option to his understudies.
With Russell set to return for this one, the ‘Scots should offer a real threat against the English in London. Gregor Townend’s men have actually won the last four clashes between the side with two of these victories coming at Twickenham, while their latest was a 30-21 victory at Murrayfield.
While Russell should be fit and ready to fire come Saturday, Darcy Graham meanwhile, is said to be a bit more touch and go. Gregor Townend’s men have had a number of players ruled out already with George Horne picking up a facial injury in Glasgow’s URC clash while Matt Currie is also on the treatment table. This has forced Townend’s hand somewhat with Ross McCann, Ali Price, and Cameron Redpath called up to provide cover.
England have opted for consistency with the only change to the run-on side from the one that beat France being Ollie Chessum, who joins skipper Maro Itoje in the second row.
Verdict: Scotland (+)
England come into this one as solid favourites with the ‘books and while I reckon they will break their four game losing streak against their neighbours, I also reckon they will be pushed hard, which is why I’m backing the ‘Scots on the plus handicap.
