Finn Russell glad to have “patched things up” with Gregor Townsend

The gifted stand-off has not played for his country since an incident on the eve of the Six Nations which led to a major rift with head coach Townsend.

Russell was accused of “a breach of team protocol” around alcohol consumption after checking into the team hotel in Edinburgh before Scotland’s opening match with Ireland.

Townsend excluded Russell from the Irish match and the fly-half was also missing for games against England, Italy and France.

The pair made their peace during lockdown and Russell was named on Monday in the Scotland squad for the autumn internationals.

Russell, who will play for French side Racing 92 against Exeter in the Heineken Champions Cup final on Saturday, has not played for Scotland for over a year.

Asked if it was a relief to have put the dispute with Townsend behind him, Russell said: “I think that has been behind me for a while now. We’ve managed to patch things up – myself and Gregor – and that’s all in the past.

"It is great to be back involved but I’ve not really thought about it that much with the final this weekend. If we didn’t have the final this weekend and I was meeting up with the team for the training camp they are having at the moment, it might be different, but as it is I’ve not really thought too much about the Scotland stuff.”

Russell will join up with the Scotland squad on Sunday.

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