HUGE TEST FOR STUDENT FRED

FREDDIE Steward goes from a university exam to the ultimate Test when he pits his wits against Finn Russell at Twickenham this afternoon.

Five days after sitting a three-hour economics paper in a quiet corner of the England camp, the 6ft 4in Leicester full-back (below) is primed to come out fighting in the name of the Rose.

Steward said: “Fight is the word that has been used, a word that brings everyone together; it’s a non-negotiable for us. It has to be there.

“If you go out and you have lads who aren’t willing to fight, particularly on a big stage like the Six Nations, you’re going to be in trouble.

Fight

“Kev (Sinfield, defence coach), with everything he has done and the way he talks about fight and the battle and working for each other, has brought a sense of unity and spirit this week.”

Much depends on Steward defusing the aerial bombs put up by Russell, the Scotland playmaker, whom he considers “probably a back-three’s greatest enemy with his full bag of tricks”.

While admitting he will feel more nervous than he did for his exam, the 22-year-old will try to stay relaxed as kick-off approaches.

“Some lads like to be frothing at the mouth and ready to go through a brick wall,” he said.

“Full-back is a position where you have to think a lot but you can also never lose that edge.

It’s about finding that balance.”

Remarkably, given they did not win once at Twickenham between 1983 and 2021, Scotland have not lost to England since 2017.

One defeat in that sequence stands out more than the rest, however, for England forwards coach Richard Cockerill as he was in charge of Edinburgh in 2018 and bet his team the Scots would lose.

When they didn’t the former hooker had to take training wearing a tartan ‘See You Jimmy’ hat.

“It was very painful,” said Cockerill, who spent a fortnight in December as caretaker boss prior to Borthwick’s appointment.

“I still live in Edinburgh and see every day how competitive the Scots are against the English.

“So we know it means a lot to Scotland but it means a hell of a lot to us as an England team.”

For England to win their set-piece, so poor in the autumn, needs to send the Scots home tae think again.

Whether messrs Borthwick, Sinfield and Cockerill have had long enough with the players to affect that fundamental change, we will find out tonight.