'Okay, fine': Townsend throws light on his axing of Finn Russell
Gregor Townsend has cagily defended his decision to start Blair Kinghorn as the Scotland out-half for only the second time in his career and bench the established Finn Russell for this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations game away to Ireland.
The Scottish coach named a starting XV containing two changes from last weekend’s win away to Italy and while the inclusion of the fit-again Jonny Gray for the benched Sam Skinner was no surprise, leaving out 2021 Lions tourist Russell was an earthquake of a call.
Kinghorn has only worn the No10 once before in a Test match, starting the October win over Tonga in that position, but his other 19 starts have come either on the wing or at full-back – stretching back to 2018 when he first debuted at international level.
Having publicly fallen out with Townsend at the start of the 2020 Six Nations, Russell mended that relationship with the Scotland coach and had re-established himself as the first-choice out-half, starting the last seven matches this season and wearing the No10 shirt in four of last season’s five Six Nations games.
However, Townsend has now gambled in including Kinghorn as the starting out-half – rather than last weekend’s sub Adam Hastings – in place of the axed Russell as Scotland seek to salvage their disappointing Six Nations campaign by getting a result against the trophy-chasing Ireland.
The alteration, though, was a touchy subject at the coach’s Thursday lunchtime live media session, Townsend trying to put the emphasis on how well Kinghorn has played at club level rather than dwell on the indifferent Test form of Russell. Initially asked to explain the change, the Scotland boss said: “We see it as a good opportunity for Blair. He has been in really good form. He wasn’t available for our match last week.
“The week before that he played his best game of the season against Connacht (for Edinburgh) and he has come on twice off the (Scotland) bench and shown what he can do in that jersey. He started for us before this season against Tonga and did really well. He has built on that performance so we believe this is the right time, the right game for him to play in.”
How did Russell react to the news, how did that conversation go? “Okay, fine. Like any conversation you have with someone who is not starting they are initially disappointed but they support the team. Finn will support Blair and he will support the rest and he has done this week.”
What has Russell not done this year that has seen him drop out of the starting team? “I’d prefer to focus on what Blair has done and how well he has played and deserves this opportunity which he certainly has on his performances throughout the season.”
Would you accept there is a risk in taking someone of Russell’s calibre out of the starting XV and going to a place like Dublin? “Every selection is an opportunity and there is no exact science selection. It’s about giving players an opportunity and what you feel is right.
“That is based on what you have seen from players in training and games, the opposition that is coming up and we know Blair has done really well and has earned his opportunity. And also with how we are looking to play the game with Blair’s strengths.”
What are Kinghorn’s strengths, then? “He is a very good passer of the ball, he is an excellent runner, he has a long kicking game and he moves well between phases, so I’ll leave it just like that. I suppose that is how I would best describe it, that he senses where the space might appear in the defence very well.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments