The Finn Russell error that Scotland are desperate England do not see
The battle between Finn Russell and Marcus Smith at Murrayfield this Saturday should be a humdinger, but there are some things that Gregor Townsend will be hoping England do not see in the coming days, with one of those things being Russell’s butchered try at the weekend for Racing 92.
Up against European and French champions Toulouse in the Top 14 Russell spurned an opportunity to take three points from under the posts by taking a quick tap. Though he came mightily close to scoring, the try was not awarded. Racing were leading by one point at this stage and could have extended their lead to four points. It is likely that Townsend would not be too pleased if his fly-half did the same against England in the Six Nations opener.
Interestingly, the player that actually stopped Russell from scoring was France captain Antoine Dupont, which is further evidence that the scrum-half can simply do everything on a rugby pitch. This was some tackle given the space Russell had, and is a very worrying sign for every Six Nations side ahead of facing the Frenchman this Six Nations.
In the end it did not matter too much as Racing went on to win the contest 20-15. Nevertheless, plenty of Scotland fans will hope Russell reins it in for the weekend. Then again, that is the player he is and that is his charm, so maybe there are plenty of Scotland fans who want him to play that way.
Take a look at the try attempt:
#TOP14 – J16
Tag ton pote qui est toujours à ça de conclure 😅🤏 pic.twitter.com/LUXBqF1NJp— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) January 31, 2022
England have already trimmed their squad to 29 players ahead of the clash at Murrayfield. This is the squad:
FORWARDS
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 5 caps)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 36 caps)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 4 caps)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 61 caps)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 3 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 51 caps)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 74 caps)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 47 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
BACKS
Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 52 caps)
George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 77 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, uncapped)
Max Malins (Saracens, 10 caps)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 7 caps)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 43 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 5 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps)
