Finn Russell on his Calcutta Cup miss, referee controversy, and Duhan van der Merwe try debate

Finn Russell has claimed that his controversial last minute missed conversion was not to blame for Scotland's Calcutta Cup defeat to England.

The Scotland stand-off sent his attempt narrowly wide of the posts after Duhan van der Merwe had scored a 79th minute try to bring the visitors back to within a point of England on Saturday.

Scotland outscored England by three tries to one but passed up a number of opportunities while Russell missed all three conversions as Gregor Townsend's side went down 16-15 in the Six Nations clash at the Allianz Stadium.

Co-captain Russell felt it was the failure to capitalise on dominant possession and territory that cost Scotland as they relinquished the Calcutta Cup for the first time since 2021.

Scotland's Finn Russell at full time after the 16-15 defeat to England. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group

"Tough one to take that, wasn't it?" Russell said, speaking on the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast.

"We played well but we didn't take our chances and then I didn't kick it at the end. I felt bad because we'd won it four years in a row and I hadn't lost to England since 2017.

"You don't want to blame the kicker. I think there were chances in the game where we could have scored and probably shouldn't have been in that situation anyway.

"Overall I think everyone was pleased with how we played. It was just a shame we lost."

Russell's missed kick sparked controversary after footage showed that had been preparing to take his attempt from the correct position before being moved two metres nearer the touchline by French referee Pierre Brousset.

"My missus showed me that last night," Russell said. "I put it where the try was scored and he told me to take it further out. I'll blame him for it then."

Russell also light-heartedly suggested that team-mate Van der Merwe could have made his kick easier had he attempted to take the ball closer to the goalposts after crossing the whitewash as an England tackler approached.

"That's the first thing I said to him when we got in the changing rooms afterwards," he revealed. "I said, 'why are you running it out there, run around him and get in'. He's a fast guy surely he can do that."

Referee Pierre Brousset awards a try for England's Tommy Freeman during the Guinness Men's Six Nations win over Scotland at Allianz Stadium, London. | PA

England's solitary try also proved highly contentious with Brousset ruling that Tommy Freeman had grounded the ball despite Scottish claims that it had been held up.

"I did say that to the ref," Russell said. "I said, 'my arm was definitely under that, you've got to check that'. He said they checked it so you've got to take their word for it I suppose. There's been a few clips I've seen back of it and I don't know if he got it down or not. He [Freeman] didn't seem to confident after the game either, by the sounds of it."

Meanwhile, Scotland lock Ewan Johnson has signed for Top 14 outfit Bayonne and will complete his move from Pro D2 side Oyonnax in the summer.

Johnson, who has four caps and is part of the Six Nations squad, has signed a two-year deal with the club, who announced his signing on social media yesterday afternoon.

The 25-year-old, who was born in England but qualifies for Scotland through his father, joins a band of Scots in the Top 14 including Blair Kinghorn at Toulouse, Ben White at Toulon and Jamie Ritchie, who has signed for Perpignan.