The strategic shift behind Finn Russell’s Scotland comeback

“We thought of the form he was at in the beginning of the season and the end of last season, and the form that Adam Hastings was in, [and it] meant that we selected Adam.

“Finn responded really well with his club [Racing 92 in Paris] and in particular when he came into camp. He was highly motivated. He was in great physical shape.

“He’s always very enjoyable to work with, very easy to work with. He knows the game, when he comes into camp he studies things. He leads on our attack and then when you watch him train you see what skill-set he has got and it’s great to watch.

“I think of Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell, it’s a joy to watch them train; their passing accuracy, the speed at which they can play at. In terms of working with Finn, it’s always been very easy to work with him during the training week.

“I now believe he is at a very important time of his career where he can see the game quickly. He can understand pictures. He has that experience of playing at 10 for over 10 years now and physically he’s in good shape, so he can deliver or take those opportunities that he knows are going to come at some point.”

There were a few things I may not have been happy with, or [Townsend] might not have been happy with.

Russell on his previous stints in the Scotland set-up

Given the glowing tribute in those last three paragraphs, you would have to rub your eyes to convince yourself that Finn Russell has ever been dropped for Adam Hastings, let alone Blair Kinghorn. Hastings has yet to prove himself at Test-worthy number 10 and Kinghorn has returned to the back three, where he truly belongs, after a brief flirtation with the outside-half berth last summer.

Here is Russell’s view of the same events from the other side of the fence:

“When he [Townsend] asked me in November about coming back in after Hasto [Adam Hastings] got injured, I said I was keen but I needed to chat through a few things before I came back in.

“There were a few things I may not have been happy with, or he might not have been happy with.

“It wasn’t a case of clearing the air, it was more about us getting back on the same page and being open and honest with each other as to where he is at mentally with his gameplan and how he wants things to run, and me having my input and saying what I think as well. The best thing is both of us being on the same page and that allows us to play as we did.”

Russell’s return has probably also coincided with Gregor Townsend re-gripping the Scotland gameplan, which had become more conservative and attritional,  what with Steve Tandy taking charge of the Saltires’ defence after the last World Cup. Scotland have gone on the attack again, and the choice of Huw Jones at number 13, rather than defensive expert Chris Harris, is symbolic of a strategic shift which has…