Russell rues a fateful decision not to go for broke
GLASGOW fly-half Finn Russell admitted he made a major error by not attempting a late drop goal that would have won the game for his team.
The No10 said he was lining up an attempt with two minutes left but changed his mind. That indecision led to Munster soaking up pressure in open play before clearing their lines and holding on for the win.
Rather than going for three points it was decided scrum-half Ali Price should keep the ball in tight with the forwards to try to force a penalty out of Munster.
‘In hindsight, I definitely think I should have gone for a drop goal,’ said Russell, who has been capped 22 times for Scotland.
‘I sat in the pocket a few times and lined up a shot. Looking back, now, I should have had a go.
‘Even when Tim Swinson made his superb break for the line rather than take a chip over I could have gone through another few phases and had
another shot at a drop goal.
‘In the end, it is frustrating to lose by a few points when I know I could have taken a drop goal and won the game for us.’
In a tense match, Russell was well shackled by a Munster defence that did not give him the space to allow him to bring his back division into play as much as he wanted.
That made his decision not to take a drop goal near the end even more frustrating as he realised every point was precious in this encounter.
‘That was a tough defence to play against as Munster had 14 players on the front line all the time, and it was hard for us to get in behind them,’ added Russell.
‘That is why we had to try a few chips in the game to try and get them turning, but it was tough.
‘Up front, I felt we matched them physically which was great for us to do but made it even the more frustrating that in the end we came up just short.’
Russell is confident Glasgow can still qualify as one of the three best second-placed teams out of the six European groups.
He is basing his confidence on the way his side beat Leicester Tigers 42-13 at Scotstoun in their opening Champions Cup match.
Even the defeat to Munster has not left him too discouraged as his team ran arguably the best club side in Europe at present very close.
‘Last time we beat Leicester Tigers at home and although it will be tough, we can go down there and get another win,’ said Russell.
Second row Swinson, who deservedly won man of the match despite finishing on the losing side, shared Russell’s optimism.
‘It’s nice to get some sort of personal gain, but in reality I’d much prefer to be the worst player on the pitch and get the win,’ he said.
‘We put in a really good team effort but unfortunately they got a good try at the end.
‘We’ve got to get down to Welford Road and win there next weekend — and we can do it.
‘It’s a pretty big atmosphere based on the times I have played down there.
‘It will be a good challenge. They’re a really good side, but we can go there, and play our rugby and win.
‘As a stadium it’s only intimidating if you get intimidated by that sort of thing.’
Munster winger Simon Zebo claimed it was the passion shown by his team that helped them get over the line.
The Irish side now progresses to the last eight of the competition, although Zebo admitted that the Warriors made it extremely difficult.
‘That was an incredibly satisfying win,’ he said. ‘We made tough work of it as it was a grinding battle that went down to the last 10 minutes.
‘In the end, though, our character shone through. The heart and passion was there and we went out there and played with accuracy and very cool heads.’