Fin Smith, still only 22, marked his full Test debut against France with a man of the match performance despite making a shaky start and on the evidence of his commanding finish at Allianz Stadium, he will occupy England’s 10 jersey for some time to come.
Now ready for his first start since last year’s Six Nations, he will give England a crucial extra line-out target as well as high work-rate and mobility around the field.
England will be aiming to wrestle the Calcutta Cup from Scotland when they meet in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations showdown at Allianz Stadium.
Now it is England who carry the baggage of past failures and they must cast their minds back to 2017 for the last time they prevailed on home soil against Saturday’s visitors.
The challenge now is to back it up knowing that ending their four-Test losing run against Scotland would propel them back into Six Nations title contention with two rounds remaining.
