England v Scotland: Gregor Townsend lavishes praise on improving Finn Russell and encourages him to run at Twickenham

Twelve months on from the infamous incident which saw him quit the team hotel, Finn Russell is ready to orchestrate the Scotland attack in the Guinness Six Nations.

According to Gregor Townsend, the stand-off has been flying in training and has improved in key aspects of his game..

The rift of last year was an anxious time for Scottish rugby but the pair have long since made up and it was unfortunate that injury denied the national coach the player’s services for all but an hour of the autumn international series.

The Racing 92 playmaker damaged his groin in the Six Nations win over Wales in October and revealed at the weekend that he used CBD oil to aid his recovery.

Russell certainly seems more relaxed if footage of him juggling tennis rackets is anything to go by and, according to his coach, he is in the mood to take on England at Twickenham on Saturday.

“He’s someone who has trained outstandingly well with us,” reported Townsend. “He has brought energy, been hugely positive and led in a number of areas. Plus his accuracy has been superb. He can’t wait to play. He’s really enjoyed being here and with his team-mates.

“We’ve been waiting for the Six Nations to start for a wee while and, like all our players, he’s looking forward to playing on Saturday.”

It’s all a welcome contrast from this time last year when Russell fell out with the management over “a breach of team protocol” which involved a disagreement over having a drink in the team hotel.

Finn Russell has been outstanding in training according to Scotland coach Gregor Townsend. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

At the time, Russell said the real issue was one of control.

Townsend spoke at length yesterday about how the stand-off’s game had developed in the intervening period. He didn’t say it but the subtext seemed to be that Russell had matured and his decision-making had improved.

Asked if he was a more rounded player than he was a year ago, Townsend said: “Yeah probably. You learn every month and every season that you play.

“He’s added parts to his game. Not just the skill of executing a kick – he could have done that two or three years ago – but he also knows now when and where to execute it.

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend was denied the services of Finn Russell for most of the autumn after the stand-off was injured against Wales. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

“His brain works very fast - looking at how a defence is shaped, this phase, next phase, and what he might do in five minutes’ time with the same opportunity.

“He’s bringing all that into skill execution much quicker and much more regularly. And a lot of that has to do with confidence. You might work out where the space is or how to attack a team but Finn has the confidence to go through with it, whether it’s a pass, a kick or a run.

“His running game is a really under-rated part of his play. And we’d certainly encourage him to run at any opportunity this weekend.”

Finn Russell 'can’t wait to play' for Scotland in the Six Nations. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

The prospect of Russell playing alongside inside centre Cam Redpath is an exciting one for Scotland supporters and Townsend knows the debutant will be ably supported by both Russell and outside centre Chris Harris.

“Cam has Finn inside him, who’s a very experienced ten who can help him around the attack side of things definitely. And he has Chris Harris outside him, who’s one of the best defensive centres in the world, who’s also attacking really well just now and has really improved his game on that side.

“So Cam will feel really comfortable that the player inside him is constantly talking to him and highlighting opportunities. Finn will be relaxed with Cam on the field, and Chris is a relaxing presence outside him because he’s so in control defensively.

“So I think it’s a really good time for Cam to play because we have those guys either side of him.”

The 10-12 axis as a dual point of attack for Scotland prompted Allan Massie in these pages to draw comparisons between Russell and Redpath and the partnership between Townsend and John Leslie which proved so successful in the 1999 Five Nations.

The Scotland coach demurred.

“I probably don’t see similarities. Their skill sets were probably a lot better than John and mine – because they can pass off either hand a bit more accurately!

“What you hope with a 10-12 combination is they hit it off and they understand each other quickly. That’s what John and I developed. We didn’t know each other beforehand and our first game I was at 13, he was at 12.

“So getting on well off the field helps. I’ve seen Cam and Finn chatting to each other a lot this week. You hope for cohesion straight away. Cam reads Finn, Finn reads Cam.

“You want the same from the centre partnership, the back three working with the centres. You hope they hit it off as quickly as possible.”

Townsend does not think Redpath’s decision to plump for Scotland having previously been part of the England squad will see him singled out for special attention at Twickenham.

“I wouldn’t have thought so,” said the coach. “He’s got a pretty strong heritage in Scotland. His dad captained the team and played 60 times or more for his country – and all his family is Scottish.

“He was in a special position in being able to choose between two countries. We’re glad he chose us.

“He’s got to realise, like everyone in that midfield or back line, that when you’re targeted it’s someone rushing up to put your skills under pressure – or run hard at you when they’ve got the ball.

“That’s Test match rugby and we’re confident he’ll be able to handle that OK.”

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