Questions over No10 but Rennie insists he’s not playing politics by benching Russell
FINN RUSSELL will start tomorrow’s much-anticipated derby against Edinburgh from the bench — although Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie insists he isn’t trying to marginalise the Scotland No 10 jersey.
The 25-year-old recently confirmed his summer departure from Scotstoun after agreeing to join French giants Racing 92 in a big-money move.
Indeed, such was the wage packet involved, SRU chief executive Mark Dodson admitted they were not in a position to financially compete with it.
While there is no suggestion there has been any fallout after the announcement, Rennie promoted Peter Horne to his starting XV last week against Montpellier — with the stated intention of giving him game-time in the No 10 jersey.
Warriors will, of course, need to replace Russell in the long-term and it makes sense to give Horne the opportunity to stake his claim. Where that leaves Scotland’s first-choice stand-off between now and the end of the season remains to be seen, however.
‘We were happy with Pete’s 60 minutes against Montpellier last weekend and he deserves to start this week as we are also trying to reward performance,’ insisted Rennie yesterday as he explained his selection for Murrayfield. ‘Pete did everything we asked of him, so we want to reward that.
‘Statistically, it might have been a dead rubber but we took a pretty good side over there against a good Montpellier side.
‘We left three or four tries out on the park and we should have got a result last week. Pete controlled the game and that is why he gets another crack. In saying that, we have no perception about Peter being in the starting team.
‘We are fortunate we have got two men who play well in that No 10 position. I was really happy last week with Finn when the game broke up after he came on against Montpellier.
‘He was able to put people in space around him as we know he can do. He will come on in the game against Edinburgh but we haven’t really thought too much about when he will feature.’
Rennie has handed the derby day captaincy to Jonny Gray, who has signed a contract extension until 2020, as regular skipper Ryan Wilson is out injured.
The back row forward will miss both derbies, as will Stuart Hogg who is still recovering from a hip injury that kept the full-back out of the Scotland match against Australia.
‘These couple of weeks mean a lot to Jonny,’ said Rennie. ‘He’s a special man, Jonny, considering the amount of times he’s played for this club and his country for a 23-year-old. He’s a talisman and truly world class.’
Rennie’s Edinburgh counterpart Richard Cockerill, meanwhile, suggested that he wasn’t entirely convinced Rennie had picked Horne simply on merit and that he may have one eye on the future.
‘Look, Finn is a very, very good player, but so’s Peter Horne,’ said Cockerill. ‘They’re both Test 10s.
‘Finn’s leaving at the end of the year, so Dave will pick who he wants to pick.
‘They are a good side across the board. Consistently, they’ve been a better side than us for the last five or six years.’
There was a blow for Edinburgh as Cockerill revealed centre Mark Bennett, who he had hoped to play against Glasgow, had failed a late fitness test.
The Englishman also feels that having to stage the fixture at Murrayfield rather than Myreside plays into Glasgow’s hands.
‘Murrayfield is a great stadium, there are well over 20,000 tickets sold, so we have got to just get on with it,’ he added.
‘Glasgow will be familiar with playing there, there is no doubt.
‘I am looking forward to where my team is at because everybody’s got a bit of anticipation around this fixture.’