Scots are warned that Finn won’t be last star to leave
SCOTLAND have been warned Finn Russell is unlikely to be the last of their international stars tempted to swap home comforts for the cash-rich French league. Dan McFarland, assistant to national team boss Gregor Townsend, yesterday admitted there was no competing with the money on offer in the Top 14, with the SRU unable to match the salary of just short of £600,000 offered to the Glasgow Warriors stand-off by French giants Racing 92. And McFarland also had words of caution for those Scots thinking of following
Russell’s lead, citing the downside of being outwith the control of the SRU and the protection they can offer. ‘I don’t want to go into Finn’s case in particular, but it’s definitely better for Scotland to have Scottish players playing in Scotland,’ said the coach. ‘Definitely — that’s on the record. It’s not a complicated issue. ‘In Scotland, we have a good record of managing players and making sure that their long-term welfare is looked after so they can represent their country and their clubs. ‘That has been done well. If they are not under your control, you can’t do that. ‘The thing for Scotland and the players is that they are looked after in Scotland. There’s a recognition of that. ‘Longevity of your career and being at your best for key games are things players take into account when making decisions. ‘To be honest, I don’t really want to go there and although it is not my remit, I’d much rather see him play in Glasgow. I think we all would. But it is what it is and the statements are out.’ With Scotland’s reputation in the world game on the up — especially after the performance in defeat to New Zealand at the weekend — there are likely to be more of Townsend’s men in demand. And when asked if he thought more Scots would be targeted by the likes of the French giants, McFarland replied: ‘It is the market place isn’t it? The market place is difficult for anyone who are not a French club. ‘It doesn’t matter whether you are Scotland, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa — they all face the same market.’ Details of his big-money move to France, as first revealed by
Sportsmail, being made public, won’t distract Russell (right) from his preparation for taking on Australia at Murrayfield at the weekend insisted McFarland. ‘There is no danger of that as he is playing for Scotland and he wants to be the best,’ he continued. ‘Finn is a world-class fly-half who can produce fantastic games. ‘When we played away in Australia, he was the stand-out player. People all around the world would have looked at that and said this is a match-winner. ‘He’s a great character to have around, very relaxed and yet extremely competitive. When he’s on the pitch, there is a calmness about him which belies the difficulty of the position. ‘There are so many opportunities to be involved in the game, opportunities to be both brilliant but also to make errors as it’s a difficult job. But he is able to stay calm through those and still be confident.’ SCOTLAND lock Ben Toolis has signed a two-year contract extension with Edinburgh. The Australian-born forward made his sixth international appearance in Saturday’s loss to New Zealand.