Finding their range
“I think we kicked 33 times to Wales’s 16, which for us in the last couple of years hasn’t happened often,” Russell said. “It’s a lot about territory and staying out of the middle third. Looking on to England I see similarities but we’ll be looking to keep the ball in hand, play with it and score tries off multiphase.”
The fact that Russell has stepped up and shown himself capable of showing tactical on-field leadership is a huge bonus for Scotland, given the impending coaching changes after this Six Nations. Russell says that there is a sense of wanting to win to give departing head coach Vern Cotter a good send-off. “It’s been great the way he’s handled this, knowing he’s leaving but still giving his all.”
The umbilical cord will not be completely broken though, with Jason O’Halloran, the backs coach whose arrival before the last World Cup coincided with a steep upturn in tries scored, moving to Glasgow.
He will work alongside new head coach Dave Rennie and will have unfettered access to a precocious back division that includes Russell, Price (23), Alex Dunbar (26), Huw Jones (23) and Hogg (24).
No matter what happens at Twickenham, after a long period in the wilderness, the future looks bright for Russell and for Scotland. very player in each of the four Home Unions squads – more than 100 in total – has been measured for British and Irish Lions kit and had their photograph taken for publicity purposes as part of a new policy by head coach Warren Gatland (pictured) to ensure no one feels they are out of contention for selection for the tour of New Zealand.
Previously, only an extended list of players were invited to measuring and photography sessions in order to give the manufacturers advance he Rugby Football Union is battling to bring in the governance changes demanded by Sport England to maintain its £12 million funding over the next four years.
The RFU complies with 39 only of 72 Sport England requirements, and an RFU council meeting last month approved 21 others. The final 12 – which include giving primacy to the governing body’s board over the council, and warning ahead of the squad announcement in April. The England players were measured up at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington the week after their Six Nations victory over Wales. “The initial thing was that they wanted us to have [a list of ] 60 players, but I just said, ‘I don’t see the point in that, why rule anyone out’,” Gatland said. “We spend a day during the Six Nations and measure up everyone – so whether you do 60 or 120 it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t like guys to come in during the middle of the Six Nations campaign and introducing a term limit of nine years for each council member, are being reviewed by a working party.
But a significant number of council members claim that the overhaul is not worth the £3 million-a-year funding, given the RFU’s £100 million-plus profit from the 2015 World Cup.
Any changes to the RFU’s constitution will have to be voted on by member clubs at the AGM or a special general meeting. say, ‘We want to measure up these 10 guys, take headshots of them’. That could lead to a few other guys in the squad feeling like they are not even in contention.”
Gatland will spend today with the England squad and will have lunch with head coach Eddie Jones. Gatland was in the Scotland camp on Tuesday.
Yesterday he visited a centre for pioneering treatment for the Cure Parkinson’s Trust, which is holding a charity dinner in Edinburgh on Apr 27. He intends to repay the hospitality shown to him by the Home Union coaches by inviting them to Lions training sessions on the tour. cotland may be outside bets to win at Twickenham on Saturday, but their form has prompted the RFU to prepare for an extended presentation after the whistle. Scotland are hoping to win not only their first Calcutta Cup at England’s HQ since 1983 but also the Triple Crown for the first time since 1990. Should they do so, it is understood they will receive the Triple Crown trophy first, followed by the Calcutta Cup.