No one can say England have not been forewarned. Their recent record against Scotland – one win in their past seven Calcutta Cup encounters – has involved a range of painful indignities but two familiar themes stand out. Their names are Finn Russell and Duhan van der Merwe and, fitness permitting, the deadly duo will be back in harness in London on Saturday.
If Russell has been the deft-fingered architect of many of Scotland’s best moments, Van der Merwe has been the breeze-block destroyer of English reputations in each of the last two years. Who can possibly forget his brace of tries at Twickenham two years ago or, indeed, his hat-trick in the same fixture at Murrayfield 12 months ago?
