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Finn Russell steals the show in first visit to Georgia by a tier one country

By Online Editors
Rory Hutchinson celebrates with his Scotland team-mates after scoring against Georgia, but it wasn't;t enough for him to make RWC (Photo by Levan Verdzeuli/Getty Images)

Finn Russell stole the limelight as Scotland put on a show in their final World Cup audition with a 44-10 thrashing of Georgia in Tbilisi. The Racing 92 stand-off pulled the strings for Gregor Townsend’s men as
his control and decision-making saw him have a hand in all four of their tries.

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Ben Toolis crossed over first inside a quarter of an hour before Northampton centre Rory Hutchinson boosted his chances of snatching a seat on the plane to Japan as he marked his first start with an
impressive double.

Forward Karlen Asieshvili pulled one back for the Lelos but Darcy Graham and Scott Cummings completed a comfortable win as Townsend prepares to unveil his 31-man World Cup squad at Linlithgow Palace on Tuesday.

The Georgians are famed for the hulking size of their pack but Scotland’s brains overcame the one-dimensional brawn of Milton Haig’s side. Russell is responsible for much of that cerebral might. Townsend saw no reason to take any risks with his health as replaced his talisman midway through the second half with his place in the travelling party an absolute certainty.

Scotland were looking for only their fourth away win in their last 12 Tests but there was almost a 53,000 sell-out crowd at the Dinamo Arena willing the hosts to hand Townsend’s team another bloody nose on the
road.

With the Scots the first tier one nation to ever visit the Caucasus, Georgia were keen to make an impression. But their over-eagerness at the breakdown gave Scotland a string of early penalties. Skipper Greig Laidlaw punished their in-discipline – some of it astounding in its stupidity – by slotting over two simple penalties straight in front of the posts inside the opening 11 minutes.

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Russell made his first major contribution three minutes later as he found a gap and drove through. Before Georgia knew what was happening, support had arrived on the playmaker’s shoulder and the ball was quickly fed through the hands of Matt Fagerson, Laidlaw and finally Toolis, with the big lock given the luxury of time to jog in and dot down.

Four minutes later and Russell was instigating things again. His clever kick set Graham scampering forward as the Georgian lines were punctured again. As the Lelos scrambled for cover, Scotland kept their composure as Russell pulled the ball back to Hutchinson, with his dancing feet giving his marker the slip as he cantered in for the second touchdown.

Soso Matiashvili and Laidlaw traded penalties just before the break but Scotland extended their lead in the 47th minute with Russell at the centre of it again. He took the ball to the line before dropping it back for Blair Kinghorn. Hutchinson then arrived at the perfect moment to speed through for his second.

But Georgia at last gave the home support what they had come to see as Asieshvili barged over in the 57th minute. Just as it looked like their reliance on blunt force would be foiled after a series of drives were repelled by the Scots, the prop finally got the momentum he needed to steam past John Barclay and Jamie Ritchie on the line.

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But there was still time for Russell to make one last magical contribution before he made way for Adam Hastings as he set up Scotland’s fourth try with 18 minutes left. Substitute Josh Strauss smashed over the gain-line to get Scotland back on the front foot and Russell’s grubber kick laid the ball on a plate for Graham to dive on top once it had crossed the whitewash.

Lock Cummings then underlined his stake for a World Cup place when he barged through again late on to round off a resounding win.

– Press Association

WATCH: The new season return of Don’t Mess With Jim – the opening episode in the RugbyPass series features Jim Hamilton previewing the World Cup, the best and worst haircuts in rugby and much more

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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