LONDON (Reuters) – England goes into the upcoming match against Scotland having won their first two Six Nations games. However, coach Steve Borthwick is expected to make changes after their solid but unremarkable performances. Despite falling behind heavily, England managed to edge past Italy and Wales with the same starting teams. The much-discussed “layered-on attack” was evident, but the overall tactics were not revolutionary. Borthwick is happy for England to have a winning start but realizes that the remaining games will be a step up in quality.
The midfield is where Borthwick is expected to make tweaks when he names his team on Thursday. Fraser Dingwall and Henry Slade filled the center berths in the first two games, but Borthwick will likely consider bringing back previously injured players Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi. Lawrence, who had been in fantastic form for Bath before his hip injury, is expected to bring power and evasiveness to the team. The previously injured duo of Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi are now back in training and available.
One enforced change for England is the absence of first-choice scrumhalf Alex Mitchell, who has been ruled out of the rest of the championship with a knee ligament injury. This leaves the opportunity for Danny Care to win his 99th cap, with Ben Spencer likely hoping for a first appearance since a cameo at the end of the 2019 World Cup final. Another player in contention after injury is back row/lock George Martin, who would add real bulk to England’s pack. Scotland, on the other hand, have won the previous three meetings in a run of four wins and a draw from the last six that followed a 10-match spell without a victory.
Scotland’s coach, Gregor Townsend, who lost all 10 of the games he played against England, has overseen the recent turnaround. The 11-6 victory in 2021, their first at Twickenham since 1983, was one of the best he had ever been involved in. The Scots are currently narrow bookmakers’ favorites to win the match, given their recent performance against England. The match against Scotland kicks off at 16.45GMT at Murrayfield.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris)
