Gregor and I haven’t spoken for months

FINN RUSSELL on his belated recall into Townsend’s Scotland squad

FINN RUSSELL has revealed that prior to his dramatic return to the Scotland squad for Saturday’s showdown with New Zealand, he hadn’t spoken to Gregor Townsend since the Six Nations.

Fly-half Russell (right) was surprisingly left out of Townsend’s autumn party last month despite his fine performances for French side Racing 92 but has now earned a late summons to Edinburgh.

Townsend claimed at the time that Russell’s omission was on form, but the pair have a strained relationship. Now they are back together again after an injury to fellow Scotland playmaker Adam Hastings.

‘i hadn’t heard from Gregor since before the summer so i wasn’t too surprised,’ Russell tells Sportsmail of his omission. ‘it is what it is. i’ll see how it goes this weekend. if i’m in the squad or not. ‘i haven’t been in the squad for a while so i’m not sure what the vibe is.’

On his working relationship with Townsend, Russell says: ‘We’re all right, i suppose. He’ll have had

his reasons so i’m not looking into it too much. There is not much i can do about the Scotland squad or who Gregor picks. ‘That’s not my job. My job is to keep playing well in France.’ Russell flew from Paris to Scotland yesterday after liaising with Townsend over plans for the team’s attacking style. ‘i text him a few times, just chatting about the attack system, shape

. . . nothing too much,’ says Russell. ‘i’ll wait and see how it is when i get in. i had a few questions and got some good clarity back. i gave my thoughts and we had a couple of texts to discuss a few things so we were all clear on the attacking side.’ Russell was one of six players disciplined by Townsend after he went on an unauthorised night out during the Six Nations earlier this year. He also walked out on the Scotland squad prior to the 2020 Six Nations.

RUSSELL has also admitted to being hit by fatigue after the 2021 Lions tour of South Africa but he is now firing on all cylinders after a summer off. Racing have seen the benefits and the Scot is in talks over a new contract with the side. ‘This season i feel much better, fresher, whereas last year i struggled with fatigue and having to play a lot of rugby.’ And Scotland will need Russell’s out-of-the-box individual talents. ‘There should be more made of individuals,’ says Russell. ‘A lot of nations have put names on the back of the tops. That’s good. it promotes players individually. Coaches have to be able to manage individuals rather than expecting everyone to be under the same umbrella and saying it’s their way or no way.’ Whether Russell gets the chance to implement his way against the All Blacks remains to be seen.

‘Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks so it’s all to play for. They’ll be confident and it will be a tough game but a good one to play in,’ he added.

l Finn Russell is a Puresport ambassador and one of a number of players using medicinal mushroom supplements to protect cognitive function. For more information visit puresport.co