The third round of the 2024 Six Nations is set to re-ignite the tournament this Saturday, with a scorching battle in place to heat up a bitterly cold Murrayfield. Scotland host England in the fabled Edinburgh ‘cauldron’, with plenty of fireworks in store between these age old rivals.
England and Scotland head coaches Steve Borthwick and Gregor Townsend both named their teams today, as the anticipation builds towards this third round fixture. After scaling through the two match day 23s, we have compiled a trio of key battles that could well dictate the outcome of this storied rivalry’s latest chapter. So, where else to begin but with the two men that will be orchestrating their back-lines this Saturday.
1. FLY HALF – FINN RUSSELL VS GEORGE FORD
We are set for a scintillating match up between the two number 10s, as Scotland’s resident magician Finn Russell goes tee-to-tee with England’s Northern grit fuelled George Ford. Beginning with Russell, the Bath man has been name-checked multiple times by England players and coaches heading into this match. The likes of Kevin Sinfield, Ben Earl and Danny Care have all expressed how dangerous the halfback is in this week’s pre-match media, yet England could well utilise some insider knowledge to nullify his threat.
Borthwick has selected Bath centre Ollie Lawrence in the English back-line, and will stand outside of Ford at first receiver. Kevin Sinfield explained how his side have been studying Finn’s elusive tricks, and have called upon his Bath teammates to provide the likes of Ford with an anti-Russell game-plan. Ford also has the man-missile Sam Underhill at his disposal, who is another one of Russell’s teammates in blue, black and white. Underhill will be more than happy for a physical reunion against his Rec ground colleague, and leave his mark on this weekend’s target with some of his customary heavy hits.
Furthermore, England have named Bath scrum-half Ben Spencer amongst the replacements, with Danny Care starting in the nine jersey. Spencer comes in following the untimely knee injury to Alex Mitchell, yet could well provide additional inside knowledge to Ford and get the better of Russell across the halfback axis. So, we are certainly set for an interesting match-up, as England try to find out all of the answers, and solve Finn Russell’s ever-changing question.