Russell back

RUGBY: Townsend in contact with key player again following high-profile row

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend is now in regular contact with Finn Russell and admits the dispute that nearly derailed Scotland’s start to 2020 was one “we could have handled better”.

The coronavirus lockdown has meant that the coach and his premier stand-off have not been able to have the face-to-face, in-person talk they planned before the summer tour to South Africa and New Zealand, although the cancellation of those three tests set for July is now little more than a formality.

However there is a regular dialogue between the coach and his squad playmakers, and it seems Russell is now fully back in the loop after his departure from camp on the eve of the Six Nations back in January.

“I would hope so,” he said yesterday when asked about Russell’s potential return. “I’m in more regular contact with the midfielders, the 10s and the centres, and Finn’s very much part of that group.

“We’ve had a few conversations over this period. We’re all waiting to see what happens when rugby does resume, but I’m sure he’ll be very much in our thoughts and let’s hope he’s keen to play.”

As for what happened, Townsend is uncertain what the most valuable lesson is moving forward.

“I’m not sure there’s one clear thing that stands out from it,” he said. “These things are ongoing processes, and relationships are ongoing.

“It’s one incident we could have handled better but at the time the priority was obviously we needed to get the team ready to play those games.

“We’ll reflect on what I could have done better as a coach and whether we could have handled things better as a group, so that when we come back into camp next time we have everyone available for us.”

In the meantime, Townsend was encouraged with his debrief after the truncated Six Nations and believes Scotland now have what it takes to win the championship before long.

“We have to have that view,” he stressed. “Not only that, I have seen the playing group we have and how they have got better and risen to the challenge.

“This year, we saw how close we came to winning all four of games. We only won two, but we had chances in the Ireland game and then the England game when it was 3-3 with about 15 minutes to go we believe there was a penalty to us that would have taken us to 6-3.

“This team can create those opportunities but it is important that we do better and we take them. Of course I believe we can win the Six Nations.”

And he is looking forward to adding candidates for competition in the squad once rugby returns, such as the three South African-born players who qualify