GUSCOTT: I’D LOVE HENRY TO BECOME REAL VOCAL POINT

England Scotland

London, 4.45pm

HENRY SLADE has been urged by Jeremy Guscott to “find his voice” and light up the Six Nations.

Rugby’s annual showpiece is back, Scotland are at Twickenham and, for the next six weeks, the sport takes centre stage in the calendar.

The hope is it will lift spirits and flagging morale across a continent suffering under lockdown rules.

The fear is, if the entertainment value mirrors that served up in the kick-and-clap Autumn Nations Cup, it could prove a turn-off.

The stakes are high but Eddie Jones’ priority is to keep England winning, as they have the last two tournaments played against the backdrop of Covid and empty stadiums.

But Exeter star Slade (left) has an opportunity to inject a ‘wow factor’ and transform the mundane into the memorable.

“I’m waiting for Henry to absolutely flourish,” said Guscott, dubbed England’s ‘Prince of centres’ during 10 years at the top of the world game.

“It’s a position I know pretty well and I can see he has all the attributes, the complete skill set. It’s whether his voice is big enough.

“Henry needs the ball in his hands more. I want him making breaks and committing players because I’m yet to see him have the impact for England he does at club level.

“He’s got the ability to be player of the tournament but has to make his presence felt more and be as dominant as a fly-half.”

England: E Daly, A Watson, H Slade, O Lawrence, J May, O Farrell (c), B Youngs, E Genge, J George, W Stuart, M Itoje, J Hill, M Wilson, T Curry, B Vunipola.

Scotland: S Hogg (c), S Maitland, C Harris, C Redpath, D van der Merwe, F Russell, A Price, R Sutherland, G Turner, Z Fagerson, S Cummings, J Gray, J Ritchie, H Watson, M Fagerson.