“I’m not sure what England are going to do – fly out of the line and take me out, or if they are going to try to shut me down from the outside, but that’s something we will have to figure out in the game,” he said.
“We have to be able to adapt. Myself, Sione [Tuipulotu] and Huw [Jones] have to be on the same page. The more aligned we are, the better it will be.
“If they try to shut me down, that might mean we have to go through Sione or Blair [Kinghorn] or somebody else further out to create chances.
“The 10 controls a lot of the attack, but it’s not just down to me to create things. We will be looking to use other boys.”
Russell was unaware that his rival captain Jamie George suffered a terrible sadness last week when his mother passed away. He had supportive words for a man he holds in high regard.
“I got on really well with Jamie on the Lions tour in 2021,” he recalled. “A great man, I’m really sorry to hear that. I’ll give him a text now to send my condolences.
“That’s a tough thing to deal with. It’s terrible for him, but I hope him and his family are OK.”
Russell also had words of admiration for George’s team, which is a side in transition.
“The World Cup showed how good they can be,” he suggested.
“They’ve won their first two [Six Nations] games and are getting back to where they should be as one of the best teams in the world. Maybe we’ve had the rub of the green the last few years, but it can change so quickly in sport.
“We can’t look back on the last few games and say it has turned in our favour. It’s a huge challenge and we have to be at our very best to beat them. We have to be ready for anything.”
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