THE MASTER & APPRENTICE
Price aware of what Marcus can do... but he is putting faith in Finn to win battle of the No10s
THE master against the young pretender. Prodigious talent against proven pedigree. It’s a narrative which Finn Russell knows all too well as he prepares to joust with England’s Marcus Smith.
Back in the autumn of 2014, at the age of just 22 and in what was only his fourth cap for Scotland, Russell was pitched in against Dan Carter and the All Blacks at Murrayfield.
Carter kicked nine points as the reigning world champions eventually triumphed 24-16 in what had been a tight contest.
But, just over seven years later and as he gets set to win a 59th cap, it is a case of role reversal for Russell ahead of this Calcutta Cup clash.
He is arguably the best fly-half in world rugby right now, the player upon whom so much depends as Scotland look to make an assault on the Six Nations title over these next few weeks.
Smith, on the other hand, is 22 years of age and has just five caps to his name. Whilst that might suggest a level of inexperience, his achievements thus far are mightily impressive.
Pulling the strings for Harlequins, he inspired his club to the Premiership title last season, earning him a call-up to the British and Irish Lions squad last summer where, ironically, he provided injury cover for Russell.
He then started at fly-half for England in both of their wins over Australia and world champions South Africa last autumn.
Whilst there may be an argument for Eddie Jones opting for the experience of George Ford, all the noises coming out of the England camp suggest Smith will be given the No 10 jersey on Saturday.
The young Englishman has already been likened to Russell in terms of style, and how they fare against each other will doubtless be key to the outcome.
For Ali Price, a first-hand experience of both players offers him a good perspective of the contest and how it might unfold.
Price has long been Russell’s partner in crime, going back to their days as flat-mates at Glasgow Warriors, and together they are now Scotland’s first-choice half-backs.
Lions scrum-half Price was impressed with how Smith handled himself in South Africa last summer, but believes Scotland can exert some pressure on the England youngster.
He was also keen to make a point on Russell. A phenomenally gifted player, no doubt. But a maverick? A mercurial talent? Well, those descriptions might now be somewhat outdated.
Arguing that Scotland now have the complete package on their hands, Price said of his team-mate: ‘I wouldn’t say Finn’s a maverick. I would say he reads the game differently to pretty much any other ten in the world.
‘The space he sees and the skillset he has that enables him to pull off certain moves — the chips, the long balls, the passes — makes him unique.
‘I wouldn’t call that a maverick. It’s just him. He’s just a world-class ten. For me, my job is to try and help facilitate that as much as I can.
‘He’s always looking for space. We’ve got a good relationship where we know what each other is thinking most of the time, which obviously helps. He’s a world-class ten, I’m sure you’d all agree.’
In what is likely to be a white-hot atmosphere at a sold-out BT Murrayfield, the experience of Price’s opposite number Ben Youngs will be vital in helping to guide Smith through the game.
‘Ben Youngs plays a massive role for the England team, especially now that Owen Farrell’s out,’ continued Price. ‘Farrell’s another guy who had huge experience. Ben Young has over 110 caps for England and has a huge amount of experience. He’s a very cool and calm player.
‘Having someone like that inside Marcus will help them. But Marcus is still going to play the way he usually does.
‘Similar to how we play here in Scotland in terms of our control. But we’ve got our own ten in Finn who can break a game up at any moment.
‘For us, it’s being aware of what Marcus can do and trying to nullify any off-the-cuff moves that he might try and pull out, and just trying to pressure him. It’ll be a pretty loud environment. Anything we can do to get some energy behind us and maybe make the England players second-guess their decisions or put doubt into their minds, we’ll take any advantage we can.’
Price is one of the more candid talkers in this Scotland squad. He is under no illusions about what awaits Scotland on Saturday.
While England were desperately poor in last year’s Six Nations, finishing second bottom, victories over the Wallabies and Springboks in the autumn looked to have revitalised Jones’ side.
Price recognises the importance of consistency if Scotland are going to go on and achieve tangible success with the current crop of players.
‘Yeah, it’s searching for that consistency,’ said the 28-year-old, who was one of the standout performers on last year’s Lions tour, starting two of the three Tests against the Springboks.
‘It’s not about having one great performance this weekend and then not backing it up because we’d then be in no better a position than previous years.
‘For us, it’s about putting on a good performance, getting a result, and then backing it up across the five games. That’s the challenge for us.
‘I think especially that first game. I know everyone mentions it, about creating momentum and getting off to a strong start and that’s no different.
‘That’s what we’ll be looking to do, trying to get that win on the board early doors because it sets you up for the next couple of rounds.
‘It (the current squad) is right up there. There’s depth in every position now, which maybe has been lacking at times in the past.
‘There are no excuses now because we’ve got it all there. We’ve got the training facilities, we’ve got everything in place for us to perform.’