England's back division has flattered to deceive in this year's RBS 6 Nations, with the half-back pairing of Ellis and Hodgson only occasionally threatening to spark them into life.

They have not been helped by the often painfully slow ball that England's forwards have produced for them, and Ellis is not overly concerned by the time it is taking for him to bond with Hodgson on the pitch.

Ellis believes that progress is being made, and that England's players are gradually learning more and more about each other's games.

The difficult thing is that there are so many different players and new faces that it is going to take time to click, but there were glimpses of it against Italy and hopefully we can build on that, Ellis said.

You get used to playing with each other. Obviously playing with Andy Goode at Leicester week in and week out I have got to know him quite a bit, and hopefully I can get that relationship with Charlie for the future.''

The 22-year-old Leicester Tigers scrum-half, who will win his seventh cap against Scotland, is beginning to flourish in the England set-up, and he is clearly relishing the experience of playing in the RBS 6 Nations.

Ellis is not afraid to admit that he has much to learn from some of the more experienced members of the squad.

Italy was my sixth cap, so I'm still pretty new to international rugby and I am just striving to keep improving and learning, Ellis said.