The player central to Scotland’s recent successes over England has been mercurial fly-half Finn Russell, who has been passed fit for the game at Allianz Stadium.
A nasty first-half head injury ended the 32-year-old’s game early against Ireland. And his absence alongside wing Darcy Graham, who will miss the game after being involved in the collision, showed in a dominant Ireland win.
Added to the pre-tournament loss of captain Sione Tuipulotu, Townsend’s depth chart has been tested as Glasgow Warriors’ Tom Jordan – a fly-half by trade – is given the nod for the second game in a row at inside centre.
Tuipulotu was tipped as a nailed-on British and Irish Lion, Graham was entering that category after Italy were unable to contain his dazzling footwork in round one, and Russell is the frontrunner to wear the 10 shirt in the summer.
The recovery of Russell, who plays his club rugby at Premiership leaders Bath, is “an enormous boost to the team”, former Scotland number eight Johnnie Beattie told BBC Sport.
Russell’s ability to unleash devastating runners such as Huw Jones and Duhan van der Merwe has proved pivotal to this fixture.
Wing Van der Merwe has scored six Calcutta Cup tries, with last year’s hat-trick leaving England’s blitz defence in tatters and adding to an already impressive highlight reel.
“Finn has single-handedly brought Scotland back into some games,” said Beattie.
“If Van der Merwe isn’t served properly with the ball, it doesn’t work. That’s how important Finn is with his rugby IQ, the way he distributes and sees things others don’t.”
Given Scotland have not lost at Twickenham since a 61-21 mauling in 2017, that fearless attitude, married with the emotion of a fixture that has produced their best performances under Townsend, could reignite a title charge.
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