The National Times - Scotland coach Townsend eager to extend England run as Russell passed fit

Scotland head to Twickenham following a 32-18 second-round defeat by Ireland, with their 11th straight loss to the double-defending champions following a tournament-opening win over Italy.

Scotland, however, are now bidding for a fifth straight victory over England -- something they last achieved in the 19th Century -- with rugby union's original international fixture first staged in 1871.

Townsend himself has presided over five Calcutta Cup wins in seven games against England, with one draw -- a 38-38 thriller at Twickenham six years ago -- since being appointed Scotland coach in 2017.

"It means a huge amount," said Townsend of playing England after announcing his side on Thursday.

"We play for a separate trophy and it is the fixture our nation and supporters look forward to more than any others.

"And it is the middle game of the Six Nations and a game we need a response in because we lost the last game."

The 51-year-old former Scotland playmaker added: "It is the most historic fixture in our sport and it adds up to a lot."

- 'Symptom-free' Russell' -

Scotland hopes of another win were boosted when co-captain Finn Russell was included at fly-half on Thursday despite suffering a concussion following a sickening clash of heads with team-mate Darcy Graham against Ireland that has ruled the wing out of the England game.

"They've both been training really well, they've gone through the right protocols and they’ve passed every stage," said Townsend after both backs had to leave the field early on against Ireland.

"Finn, we felt, was symptom-free much earlier and obviously didn't have as much of a head knock as Darcy did."

Townsend added: "Darcy is progressing really well...He's on to the next stage of his training but we just felt this week was too early to do full contact so we're giving him that extra week to recover."

Kyle Rowe replaces Graham on the wing, with former captain Jamie Ritchie coming in for Matt Fagerson in the back row and prop Pierre Schoeman taking over from Rory Sutherland.

England lost their Six Nations opener away to Ireland, but Steve Borthwick's men ended a run of seven straight defeats by top-tier opposition with a dramatic 26-25 win over France at Twickenham.

"They (England) have played consistently well know for a while," said Townsend.

"The summer tour last year in New Zealand they showed what a quality side they are and in November they were involved in some really tight fixtures with some quality opposition.

"They had a very good win against France and I am sure they will be very confident particularly at home."

But he added: "We believe in this (Scotland) group and they have got another opportunity to show who we are in attack and defence and bring our best rugby both sides of the ball."

P.Jones--TNT