England not solely focused on Russell, says Itoje

Guinness Men's Six Nations: England v Scotland

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 22 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Scotland & BBC Sounds, live text and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on ITV1

England cannot focus solely on Scotland talisman Finn Russell despite his pedigree in the Calcutta Cup, says Maro Itoje.

Scotland are targeting a record fifth consecutive win over England when the sides renew their rivalry at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

"Finn is obviously a good player, we all know he's a good player and he requires a certain amount of attention," said England captain Itoje.

"[But] just as with France, same with Scotland, you can't focus on any one player."

Russell, 32, made the 'Pass of the Century' to release Huw Jones for a clean break during Scotland's 25-13 win that ended an eight-game losing run in 2018.

The fly-half followed that with a try-scoring, man-of-the-match performance at Twickenham in 2019 as he dragged Scotland level in a thrilling 38-38 draw, before another superb display featuring an assist for Duhan van der Merwe's try two years later helped the visitors to a first win since 1983 at the home of English rugby.

In 2022, Russell's clever cross-field kick forced England into conceding a penalty try in Scotland's 20-17 win at Murrayfield and, last year, another perfectly weighted kick wide handed Van der Merwe a hat-trick in a fourth consecutive Scottish victory.

Itoje added: "Rugby is, in my opinion, the greatest team game there is and no one can do it all by themselves.

"Whilst we need to make him [Russell] have a bad day at the office, we also have to pay respect to their back row, wingers, tight five, his inside-back partners.

"They have a number of threats throughout their team. They're all good players and play rugby at a high level. We need to have a consistent approach through the whole game."

Both sides have won one game and lost to Ireland in this year's Six Nations and defeat is likely to end their chances of competing for the title.

Russell may share his first name with his opposite number, albeit with a slightly different spelling, but the similarities end when it comes to experience.

Scotland's fly-half will win his 84th cap on Saturday, while England's Fin Smith, aged 22, will make just his second Test start.

Their rivalry has grown from the club game as Smith's Northampton Saints overcame Russell's Bath in last season's Premiership final.

In the 2024-25 campaign, Russell has scored more points, beaten more defenders and had more touches than Smith,, external who in contrast has made more successful and dominant tackles.

Russell will want to get his hands on the ball and influence the game once more, while Smith retains the England number 10 jersey after his measured, man-of-the-match display against France, in which he created late tries for Tommy Freeman and Elliot Daly.

England centre Ollie Lawrence, who plays alongside Russell at Bath and has seen Smith develop from an academy prospect since their time together at Worcester Warriors, says the younger man is under no pressure to emulate the Scot.

"I don't really think there's too much pressure on Fin; certainly we aren't putting pressure on him to step up or anything like that," said Lawrence.

"The way he played against France and controlled the game put us in the right areas of the field. He managed to set up that try [for Daly] at the end, which was testament to how he's come on as a player.

"Ever since he left Worcester and went to [Northampton] Saints, he's only gone like this [upwards].

"Finn Russell is a world-class 10, a great player and I've got a huge amount of respect for him. But equally I'm definitely not looking at Fin and saying he has to match the other Finn during the game.

"He'll do his thing, he's a confident lad and we'll back him all the way. He has so much more potential and so much more to show in an England jersey."