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| - Rugby Union's oldest international rivalry will feature two of the sport's youngest talents when England begin their Six Nations title defence against Scotland on Saturday. Ollie Lawrence and Cameron Redpath were once England Under-20 team-mates but the centres will be on opposite sides in a Twickenham match that marks the 150th anniversary of the first England-Scotland clash. Lawrence, whose Test chances have been bolstered by Manu Tuilagi's long-term Achilles injury, joins Henry Slade in a midfield where England captain Owen Farrell has been moved to fly-half, with regular No 10 George Ford now on the bench. "We feel this is the right balance," said England coach Eddie Jones. "It's a good combination of Owen's tactical acumen, Henry's running skills and left-foot kicking and Ollie's power. "He (Lawrence) runs good lines and is a good defensive player. He'll add a bit of punch to the backline." Lawrence will be winning just his fourth cap but fellow 21-year-old Redpath is even less experienced, with the Bath midfielder set to make his Test debut as the Scots go in search of a first win over England at Twickenham since 1983. Scotland coach Gregor Townsend, only nine-years-old at the time of that success, had no qualms however, about throwing the son of former Dark Blues scrum-half Bryan Redpath in at the deep end. "I have been really impressed with him in games where, maybe away from home or up against it, he has had that same fearless mindset of wanting to take on the opposition," he said. Townsend, a former Scotland international, was clear about the enduring significance of Test rugby's foundation match. "The first game of the tournament, we play for one of the oldest trophies in sport, 142 years since we have played for the Calcutta Cup, 150 years since this game was first played," he said. "So the rivalry will always be there and it should be an intense match." Scotland's hopes of ending their winless run at Twickenham may be aided by the absence of spectators at the 80,000 capacity stadium, with Saturday's match taking place behind closed doors in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. "It is an opportunity with no crowds, you can't deny it, but you have got to take the opportunity," said Townsend. "It becomes more of a neutral venue but you have got to make sure you play rugby, and not wait for any lack of crowd noise to help you." Meanwhile, Farrell and his fellow England internationals at Saracens -- Elliot Daly, Billy Vunipola, Maro Itoje and Jamie George -- head into the game lacking competitive match action this season. Saracens were relegated to the Championship at the end of last term for breaches of the Premiership salary cap but the start of the second-tier league campaign has been delayed by the impact of the coronavirus. Jones, however, said the enforced break had been a "godsend" for the players concerned, adding: "They've come in fresh, they've got a spring in their step." Scotland almost ended their Twickenham hoodoo two years ago when, having been all but beaten at 31-0 behind, a second-half rally inspired by Finn Russell took them to the brink of an astounding win before Ford's last-gasp converted try saw the match end in a 38-38 draw. Fit again fly-half Russell is ready to orchestrate Scotland's attack again this weekend, but former playmaker Townsend warned against relying on "one or two players". That match left its mark on England and may well explain why a team renowned for their forward power have largely resisted subsequent calls to fully utilise their resources by playing a more expansive game. "We allowed ourselves to be seduced by the scoreboard," said Jones as he reflected on the 2019 encounter. "It seduced us into playing a way that suited Scotland and invited them back into the game," the veteran Australian coach added. "Since then we've been working very hard to make sure that we just play each minute of the game." jdg/dj
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