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Finn Russell has broken his silence about difficult Six Nations

(Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Finn Russell has given his take on his difficult Guinness Six Nations campaign which culminated in him getting dropped to the Scotland bench for their round five game away to Ireland last month. The form of the out-half came in for much scrutiny over the course of the tournament that began with a Scotland win over England that ignited chat about them potentially winning the Grand Slam.

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Those hopes were quickly extinguished by a round two defeat to Wales and their campaign limped from there to a disappointing finish in which their loss in Ireland was accompanied by the messy story that six Scotland players – including Russell and skipper Stuart Hogg – had been disciplined for an alleged breach of team protocol the previous weekend.  

Russell has since returned to France to continue his season with Racing 92 and ahead of their second leg round of 16 derby with Stade Francais in the Heineken Champions Cup, he has now reflected on his Six Nations and spoken for the first time about how it didn’t pan out as desired.  

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Mike Brown | Rugby Roots

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Mike Brown | Rugby Roots

Speaking to rugbyrama.fr, Russell was asked about the criticism of him from the Scottish media following the defeat to Wales which came seven days after they had opened the tournament with their win over England. “It doesn’t stress me out that much,” he insisted. 

“After our victory over England, we were the best team in the world. After the defeat in Cardiff, I was good to be thrown into oblivion… That day, I received a yellow card for having attempted an interception near our goal line, but I would do the exact same thing again if I had the chance. The shot was good, I swear!”

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The sin-binning incident added further fuel to the allegation that Russell is a Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde type of figure on the rugby pitch. Does it tire him? “This reputation has followed me throughout my career. When I landed in Glasgow and then in the Scottish team, I tried different things, things that other players did not do before me.

“But if you look at how the out-halves on the international circuit play, they also try things: off-loads, kicks over the top, all that stuff. Marcus Smith does it, Romain Ntamack too. When it’s me, I’m told that it’s ‘risky’, that it’s not a ‘good idea’… Maybe I should have started rugby 15 years later,” he quipped with a reported smile. 

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Russell was also quizzed about his final round benching by Scotland in Dublin. Asked was he annoyed to be dropped by Gregor Townsend, he replied: “That’s how it is. Nobody likes being relegated to the bench. It was the second time it happened to me with Scotland, both times under Gregor. The first time, it was for my 50th cap.”

Was it a punishment this time? “There must also be some of that, yes,” admitted Russell, who was later asked about his average-man physique. “I’m a rugby player, an out-half, not a bodybuilder. My job is not to push hard in the scrum or to overtake the opponent on the wing.

“The important thing for me is the psychological side; it’s about staying happy on and off the pitch. This is how I practice my best rugby. My body doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care if I don’t have chocolate bars. I love burgers and pizza too much, anyway…”

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M
Mzilikazi 2 hours ago
Western Force and ACT Brumbies looking for signs of progress in Super Rugby Pacific

It’s good to be at the start of the season, to be tipping the games again. Thanks for the article Brett. An interesting and, for me, informative read, as I have not kept up with all the news of all the teams, really only Qld.


Whatever happens in the search for a new coach for the WB’s, all of Les Kiss, Stephen Larkham and Dan McKellar will be coaching their respective teams this year. I believe Kiss to be the best of the three, and by a significant margin(the bad result against the Chiefs in the playoffs last season the one scar), and that gives Qld., in my view, an extra edge.


I agree, Brett, that Qld. on paper, and on squad strength and experience, look the best bet for Australia. If Tim Ryan builds on last year, he could be a WB starter against the Lions. The locking strength and depth is approaching that of teams like Leinster, Toulouse etc…not as strong ofc, but in Super Rugby circles, yes.


I like the type of game Kiss is building. Really carrying on from where he was rudely interrupted at London Irish, when they fell over. The one game on tour where they beat Ulster was a significant pointer to where they are at. While not a top Ulster unit, it was still a very good team, not easy to beat in Belfast. Sadly the Bristol game was a training run, but still valuable in a way, as the group were touring, building systems and understanding.


One player I will be watching with interest is Finn Hurley at the Highlanders. He was brought to my attention a year ago by the grandson of a friend, who knew him at Otago Boys High in Dunedin. Small, but resilient, with a good boot, from what I have seen on clips, he should have a useful first full year as a Highlander.


Hope the Force do well… have always had a “soft spot” for them. But good luck to all franchises, and pray for no serious injuries….as I have done forever, as aplayer, then coach, and now long retired rugby fanatic 😀

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J
Jfp123 4 hours ago
New twist sees Romain Ntamack's Six Nations ban extended

I’m still not convinced. I think everyone should be punished equally for similar actions, rather than differentiating punishment on the basis of speculative psychological analysis. I still think accusations are based more on the mindset of the accuser than the accused. As mentioned, I can’t possibly say why Ntamack committed foul play and you may be right, but that’s not the only possible explanation. Have you never lost concentration when work’s a walkover and your best efforts aren’t needed. We know very little about Ntamack, perhaps major upheavals off the pitch were on his mind, eg maybe worried about the baby. Or how about turning your speculation in the opposite direction? Some pundits mentioned there were afters to the tackle, which presumably indicate the Welsh player had lost his temper. Were those afters delivered silently, or were they accompanied by words? Could he have said something insulting about Ntamack’s mixed heritage, or family, or something else that lit the blue touch paper? I don’t suppose he was complimenting him on his hair! No provocation justifies dangerous play, whether an HIA examination is required or not, and Ntamack deserved his red card and punishment. But if this is what happened, would you call both players’ losses of temper ‘malicious’? After all, Ntamack has taken thousands of big hits over his career without retaliating. The foul was out of character, so should it be explained away by afters to the tackle that were malicious? No one landed a punch, but are all punches malicious, whatever the provocation? Now both this scenario and yours take actions which actually happened, and then progress to pure speculation about the unknown. There are other possibilities too. I’m certainly not saying any of the possibilities discussed are what happened and I don’t presume to know what the players were thinking at the time. If you want to make a case for punishing all players who get a red card, in a similar way with similar outcomes, for longer, that would be fair enough. But I don’t think it’s fair to call for special punishment for a particular player based on speculation.

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