England's Youngs says Russell, Hogg behind Scotland evolution

England scrumhalf Ben Youngs said Scotland's evolution into an attacking team that can threaten at will was down to the impact that flyhalf Finn Russell and fullback Stuart Hogg have had in recent years.

England, who finished fifth in last year's Six Nations, travel to Edinburgh to face Scotland on Saturday in this year's competition and Youngs said he was looking forward to the clash.

England have lost two of their previous four meetings with their oldest rivals.

"Scotland's game definitely evolved, without doubt," Youngs told the British media. "Finn has had a big say in that with the way he approaches the game.

"I'd say he's a very similar style to Marcus Smith in terms of that ability to roll the dice and have the tools in the armoury to actually pull them off," he said, comparing Finn to the England flyhalf.

"It's fascinating and he's had an instrumental role. Stuart Hogg has had a great career and will continue to have a great career. Him at full back is a constant threat. With that, they've got a pack that will give them plenty of ball.

"They play a fast game, move the ball a lot more. They have game-breakers and potentially those guys have had a huge say in where they are now."

Youngs said that his team did not need extra motivation for the match.

"The fact it's England v Scotland is always enough," Youngs said. "You saw when it was England v Scotland in the football European Championship, the amount of fans who come down.

"It's huge. When you go to Murrayfield it adds to the challenge but it's the challenge you want. We're certainly excited by it."

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)