Kenny Murray: Glasgow will do everything to keep Finn Russell

Finn Russell takes on Munster's Rhys Marshall. Picture: Bill Murray/SNS/SRU

Scotland stand-off Russell, who is out of contract at the end of the season, was yesterday linked with a potential move to French giants Racing 92, with other Top 14 clubs also believed to be interested in capturing the services of the 25-year-old.

“Everyone knows Finn’s situation, there’s clubs chasing after him, and Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Rugby will, I’m sure, be working to try and keep him here,” said Murray.

“Ultimately, that will become Finn’s decision. But certainly we want him to stay at Scotstoun, he’s a big part of our team and how we play so that discussion will be ongoing between Finn and Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Rugby over the next few months.”

Russell was wearing a protective mask during training at Scotstoun yesterday after he took a blow to the nose during Friday’s impressive 37-10 home win over Munster in which the stand-off put in another masterful performance to underline his importance to Dave Rennie’s side.

“He played really well,” added Murray. “People look at what he does in attack, which is important. But defensively, we got two turnovers at the  weekend as a result of Finn making really good low tackles, so people forget that part of his game.

“As a stand-off, he’s probably one of the best tacklers in world rugby. So, he’s got a lot to his game other than just his attack.

“That [nose blow] came from a great kick reception as well. He’s very good in the air. His nose is a bit swollen today.”

Russell continued his faultless form with the boot, taking his tally to a perfect 16 from 16, which eclipsed Welshman’s Dan Biggar’s 15 for the best start of a Pro12/14 season by a goalkicker.

“He’s a very good kicker,” said Murray. “He’s scored some important kicks for us in past years, like that Ulster game when he kicked from the touchline [to win the 2015 Pro12 semi-final].

“I remember over the last couple of years, Gregor [Townsend] used to always talk to him about pushing his stats up because obviously it helps the team but it helps him as well to push the standard up in his kicking game.”

Glasgow will now look to make it five wins from five in Conference A of the Guinness Pro14 when they welcome Italian side Benetton Treviso, who have registered wins over Edinburgh and Ospreys in recent weeks, to Scotstoun.

“We try to keep things fresh and every week we’ll look at different priorities depending on who we are playing,” said the former Ayr boss.

“We know this week that Treviso are going to be on a high, they’ve beaten Edinburgh and they’ve beaten the Ospreys, they’re a smart team, scored some interesting tries, but they are bloody brutal – they are a really physical side.

“They’ve a very good forward pack, a good set-piece, very good runners in the midfield with [Alberto] Sgarbi there, so we know how difficult it is going to be.

“They are professional rugby players. The preparation we do on the opposition is really detailed, so we don’t leave any stone uncovered.

“I suppose for our guys it is all about points and all about performance.

“The Munster game goes into insignificance if you don’t get the points against Treviso, so that will be the message the guys put out this week.”