Star Metro - Jones warns England about Russell threat in Six Nations

Jones lost three of his seven Tests against Scotland while in charge of England, the last of those defeats came at the start of a dire 2022 that led to his dismissal in December.

The 63-year-old veteran coach forecast an England win by three points on Saturday but believes talented fly-half Russell could make the difference.

Jones, reflecting on Russell's often difficult relationship with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend, himself a former Test No. 10, said: "Gregor Townsend was an older version of Finn Russell and that's probably why he and Finn Russell don't get on."

Now in charge of his native Australia for a second time, Jones also told the EDDIE podcast: "He (Townsend) sees Finn Russell in the mirror -- doesn't want to listen to the coach, wants to do it his own way, 'what does he know, just let me play because I want to play'. They butt heads.

"If Finn Russell plays, he gives Scotland an outstanding chance to win. It also means that if England get on top, Scotland will probably get hammered because he will keep taking risks under pressure and will give England more opportunities to score."

Jones, who was replaced as England coach by Steve Borthwick, said the match would provide a fascinating clash of styles.

"Because they (Scotland) are a smaller country they've always thrived on creating chaos and so that's reflected in their rugby," he said. "They want to break the game up. The English want to be organised.

"And so you've got this contrast between the structure and organisation and power of England and the unstructured, chaotic nature of Scottish rugby."

He added: "They are two very good coaches -- Steve is methodical, Gregor more wants to do different things, wants to play the game differently."

N.Fournier--SMC