Ben Youngs: England scrum-half sees similarities between Marcus Smith and Scotland star Finn Russell

Adam Kyriacou 31 Jan 2022 1:26 PM

England scrum-half Ben Youngs has likened Finn Russell to Marcus Smith ahead of the massive Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Youngs, who’s hailed both Russell and captain Stuart Hogg in the lead-up to the Six Nations game, has been impressed by Scotland‘s steady improvement.

Indeed, the Scots have a strong recent record against England, having won twice and drawn once in their most recent four meetings between the two rivals.

England’s oldest rivals

The Leicester veteran was present for three of those afternoons and made his debut at Murrayfield a decade ago with his 11 Tests against England’s oldest rivals the highest number played by anyone in Eddie Jones’ squad.

He has seen first hand Scotland’s transformation into a more dangerous side orchestrated by fly-half Russell and full-back Hogg, while also noting the influence of Hamish Watson on the flank.

“Scotland’s game has definitely evolved, without doubt. Finn has had a big say in that with the way he approaches the game,” Youngs said.

“I’d say he’s a very similar style to (England fly-half) Marcus Smith in terms of that ability to make big plays, to roll the dice and have the tools in the armoury to actually pull them off.

“It’s fascinating really and he’s had an instrumental role. And of course Stuart Hogg, who has had a great career and will continue to have a great career. Him at full-back is a constant threat.

“With that they’ve got a pack that will give them plenty of ball. Hamish Watson, what he does around the breakdown and all that.

“They play a fast game, move the ball a lot more. They have game-breakers and potentially those guys have had a huge say in where they are now.”

Youngs is in the rare position of having never lost at Murrayfield but there were some close shaves along the way, according to the Leicester scrum-half who is set to become England’s most capped player during this Six Nations.

“Every game I’ve ever played up there there’s never been too much between the teams,” he said.

“We had an incident, I can’t remember what year it was now, it feels like forever ago, but someone’s hand went underneath my tummy and I grounded the ball right at the end of the game. We escaped that day!

“There was Storm Ciara in 2020. The one on the wing was where I made my debut in 2010. It was a 15-15 draw. A Calcutta Cup classic that one!

“When you go to Murrayfield it adds to the challenge but it’s the challenge that you want. We’re certainly excited by it.”