Cohen puts England on Lamont alert

Ben Cohen has warned England ahead of Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield that Scotland winger Sean Lamont is “already world-class and getting better”.

Cohen knows from first hand experience just how devastating a finisher Lamont can be after the bleach-blond 25-year-old left Glasgow to join him at Northampton last summer.

Indeed, only last weekend Cohen was cheering as Lamont ran in four tries during the Saints’ Guinness Premiership destruction of Saracens.

But on Saturday they will be in opposing camps and Lamont has already shown his top class pedigree this season with two tries in Scotland’s stunning victory over France.

Cohen is looking forward to locking horns with his club-mate and just hopes his inside knowledge can give England the upper hand as they chase a third straight Six Nations victory.

“Sean is a great player and I rate him big time. He is already a world-class player and is getting better and better,” said Cohen.

“There is no doubt that coming south of the border this season has helped him improve his game because the Guinness Premiership is a very tough league.

“With the likes of Carlos Spencer, Jon Clarke and Bruce Reihana, Sean is playing with backs who allow him to express himself a bit more.”

Cohen and Lamont will be on opposite wings on Saturday, but such is their shared hunger for work there is no doubt they will clash at some point in Saturday’s game.

Lamont scored his first try against France after playing the role of a loose-forward, joining a powerful Scotland drive before emerging with the ball and diving over.

His second highlighted an acute eye for the line that Cohen’s wing partner Mark Cueto will have spent the week closely analysing.

“It would be good to be directly up against Sean on Saturday but I am sure we will bump into each other at some point of the match,” said Cohen.

“When you are training and playing with a guy week in, week out, you get an idea of strengths and weaknesses and I am sure that is the same for Sean when he looks at my game.

“At Test level, we all do our own individual analysis about our opposite number and Mark will be doing that on Sean this week.”

Cohen led England out at the Flaminio Stadium last week when he won his 50th Test cap against Italy. It leaves the World Cup winner as one of England’s senior figures despite only being 27.

But there was a time only last season when Cohen’s career seemed to have reached a crossroads.

He was forced to play in the centre as Northampton battled against relegation.

The Saints stayed afloat by “about three inches” but Cohen had not been enjoying his rugby and last summer he made a crucial decision. After missing out on Lions selection, he asked to be removed from the stand-by list and did not travel to the Churchill Cup with England A.

Cohen needed a break. He had not even had a chance to reflect on the World Cup glory and needed time to re-evaluate his career.

In doing so, Cohen rediscovered his enthusiasm for the game and determination to succeed with both Northampton and England.

Last week, just after Cohen had joined England’s 50-up club, his Northampton boss Paul Grayson said: “I am full of admiration for him. He has been very honest and open about how he has returned to the game and he is getting his reward.”

A flood of tries for Northampton earned Cohen an England recall in November and scored his 30th Test try against Australia. After the difficulties of last season it was a special moment.

“Getting back into the England team this season was massive for me and I did take time in the summer to examine my career and decide how I wanted to take it forward,” he explained.

“This has felt like a new start for me. It is a great thrill to reach the 50-cap mark but I am not a veteran yet. I am only 27 and while 50 caps is a great honour, I would love to add 50 more.”

The 51st will be handed out at Murrayfield on Saturday, where a victory for England over a resurgent Scotland side would stir up genuine hopes of a Grand Slam.