Horne: Dynamic duo will be in full bloom for the English
“Hopefully I can create space around me that others can exploit. I have been running at 10 and 12 for the last couple of years so I know I can mix it up.
“I like to think I help Finn out and take some of the pressure off him. A big role in my game is to try and organise outside of me and give Finn plenty of space in which to operate. We’re probably not at the same stage as Ford and Farrell, but I think we have a really good relationship and we do work well together. He’s put me through plenty of holes and I’d like to think I take pressure off him.”
KEY to their relationship is communication and Horne believes that he is able to act as a conduit between Russell, who is very much a creature of instinct and the rest of the back line.
“Off the first phase we are always chatting. We try and get together as much as we can on the park because we all have a vital role to play,” said Horne. “We collate the ideas and we try and run with them. A lot of the time with multi-phase it will be me who calls it but that is something I am comfortable with.
“When you are playing at 10 you have so much to worry about like forwards trying to get up and smash you. Sometimes you can’t look up and see what’s out there and you cannot underestimate the value of having someone calling it for you.”
Horne’s selection to start against France was, along with that of Greig Laidlaw, a vital component in improving Scotland’s effectiveness.
Whereas the team had, in Cardiff, looked rudderless with Ali Price and Russell both looking to do things flat out, while Huw Jones, in an unaccustomed role at inside centre, was far too inexperienced in the role to involve himself in the decisionmaking process, Laidlaw and Horne provided crucial checks and balances.
“Huw is on fire again which is great. I just chuck the ball to him and let him run about, it’s the same with Hoggy [Stuart Hogg], “he said. “When you have such fantastic players alongside you just put them in space. They are both playing great as are Tommy [Seymour] and Sean [Maitland], so it makes my life easier.”