Who is Ben White? Scotland scrum-half profiled as he gets nod to face England

Ben White’s inclusion in the Scotland XV to take on England on Saturday in the Six Nations clash at Twickenham raised a few eyebrows, especially as one of the two Glasgow Warriors No 9s in Ali Price and George Horne were expected to start.

Ben White will be winning his tenth cap for Scotland against England.

Horne has been in excellent form for the Scotstoun outfit, while Price – a regular in the Scotland team and often trusty partner to stand-off Finn Russell – is a British and Irish Lion and deemed a reliable pair of hands. However, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend rates White highly and has handed him only his second start for the national team. The only other occasion he was given the nod came in the second Test win over Argentina in South America last summer. However, this will be his tenth cap in total.

Born in the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent, 24-year-old White qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather. He started his career with Leicester Tigers, where he picked up caps for England Under-20s, and moved to his current club London Irish in 2021. He was called into the Scotland squad for last year’s Six Nations and scored a try on his debut, ironically against today’s opponents, as Scotland won 20-17 to win the Calcutta Cup. His only other try came against Fiji last year.

This will be the first time that White and Russell have started as a half-back pairing. However, White has been in excellent form for London Irish in the Gallagher Premiership and is anticipated to grasp his chance after being given a massive vote of confidence by Townsend for this encounter.