MARK Bennett is sure that he and Matt Scott will keep England guessing tomorrow thanks to their different strengths. Bennett, the Glasgow Warriors back, was only passed fit earlier this week after a month out with a shoulder injury, and will now team up with his Edinburgh counterpart in the Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield.

“I think we are two very different players, physically more than anything else,” the 23-year-old said yesterday when asked about playing alongside Scott. “He’s a hell of a lot bigger player than I am.

“When you look at that, it means that defences need to watch him going direct - but there’s that option of me using my feet and jinking on the outside, so I think it will put them under pressure from that side of things.

“But he always gets over the gain line. He’s a bloody good ball-carrier and for me that’s really easy to play with - someone who’s going to go forward and get his hands free, working really well through the tackle.

“Defensively he's a strong, strong tackler, and that allows me to try and get over the ball if he knocks them down. I'm excited by it and just hope it goes well.”

The fact that Bennett is shorter, lighter and more elusive than Scott or indeed most other centres has its downside of course: he is often targeted by attacks seeking the line of least resistance in the Scotland defence. He certainly expects England’s ball-carriers to come straight at him tomorrow, especially as he has just come back from that injury.

“That’s part of the game. and I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” he said. “I’m one of the smallest guys in the team. It’s just physics.”

Bennett injured his shoulder while playing for Glasgow in the Champions Cup against Racing 92 on the second weekend of the year, and for a time his involvement in the opening rounds of the RBS Six Nations Championship was in doubt. But once he was passed fit there was little doubt that he would take his place in Vern Cotter’s team.

“It was bloody sore at the time,” Bennett said yesterday when asked about that shoulder injury in Paris. “I wasn’t thinking any further at the time and it was sore. I got tackled and the way I landed was awkward.

“The first few days it was pretty swollen and I didn’t get much movement, but then after three or four days the recovery came on quicker than initially expected because of how sore I was after the game. In the first week after I saw the surgeon I was starting to get into a better place again.”

Bennett was quickly reassured that he would not need surgery to repair the damage, and he was always hopeful that he would get back playing in time to keep his place in the team. But at the same time there was always a nagging worry that he would lose his race against time.

“Realistically yes, slightly,” he said when asked if he was concerned that he might miss out on the England game. “But I tried to put on a brave face.

“At the back of my mind I knew it to be positive. There wasn’t a lot to it. It was just a case of getting fired up again and progressing when it felt fit. The specialist was happy for me to crack on.”

Cotter will also be happy for Bennett to “crack on”. While Scotland are confident they are equipped to deal with England’s physical challenge, they will also need a dash of creativity if they are to get the upper hand, and the man from Cumnock is the most likely team member to supply that.