Scotland’s Ben White: ‘Finn is probably the world’s best fly-half at the minute’

The London Irish scrum-half has flourished since Steve Borthwick deemed him surplus to requirements at Leicester

FLOURISHING: Scotland's Ben White who is relishing the opportunity he has been given by Gregor Townsend to establish himself as Scotland's first-choice scrum-half. Pic: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire.

Even six weeks ago you would have had long odds on Ben White being one of the most pivotal players in the Six Nations Championship. Or, indeed, on Scotland beating all the other “home nations” in the same campaign. Aside from their grand slam seasons of 1984 and 1990, the last Scottish standalone triple crown was tucked away before the second world war.

In 1938, as it happens, Scotland had a not dissimilar gameplan to 2023. A deliberately fast-paced game, designed around their brilliant fly-half, Wilson Shaw, worked a treat 85 years ago and history may be repeating itself. With White at scrum-half cranking up the tempo and his half-back partner, Finn Russell, exploiting that momentum, France could easily have lost in Paris last month.