Scots’ new combination set to unlock Argentina

Gregor Townsend admits the prospect of Adam Hastings and Finn Russell starting a Test for Scotland together this autumn only crystallised in his mind over the past two weeks but he is now excited to see how the pairing works ahead of next year’s Six Nations and World Cup.

Hastings has come off the bench and Russell has shuffled out to the No 12 berth for both club and country on a couple of occasions, but Townsend will for the first time test the pairing from the start in Saturday’s match against Argentina.

“The combination could be either way,” said the coach. “There will be times in the game when it is the other way round. In the last ten minutes of the South Africa game, Finn was first receiver a few times and Adam at second receiver, so that will flow naturally.

“Finn has ability to play 12. He has played 12 before, and that was his first position for Glasgow when he got into the team three or four years ago, and, with his experience just outside to be communicating back in to Adam, that is a better combination.

“Both are very good runners and good passers. They might end up looking like they are playing 10, 12, but playing differently during the game.”

Townsend admitted that the notion has been a slow burn in his mind over the past few weeks.

“I do remember the Edinburgh-glasgow game last year when Adam came off the bench and they combined really well a couple of times. Adam was a young player at the time and had not had that much professional experience,” said Townsend.

“Adam playing so well for Glasgow this year has put him in a position to compete for that No 10 jersey. We want to see Adam continue to develop and we want to give him opportunities to continue to develop.

“We believe Finn being outside him will help him. We also believe that combination can put Argentina under a lot of pressure, both through their passing and kicking but also through their running threats. I am not sure if

0 Gregor Townsend has made six changes in the pack.

it would have happened if we had Matt Scott and Sam Johnson available. We would have given one of them an opportunity. But, given Adam’s form, we would like to give him a second start and we feel having

Finn and Greig [Laidlaw] either side of him will help him a lot.”

Russell, of course, remains Scotland’s primary playmaker and it is likely that this weekend’s selection is a one-off

GREGOR TOWNSEND with a view to it being a standby option that can be rolled out during what will be a huge 2019 of international rugby.

Townsend stressed that Russell was fine giving up the Scotland No 10 jersey he has made his own and willing to adapt to the different role.

“He’s obviously got to defend differently, he’s got to carry ball as second receiver,” said Townsend. “We want him getting as many touches as first receiver as he can. We should see other aspects of his game which are strong points, such as his carrying game, which we didn’t get to see last week or don’t get to see enough of when he’s playing 10.

“Finn is a strong ball-carrier. He’s hard to put down. He’s got a good off-loading game. He’s got a good awareness of defences to pick the right running lines.

“Last week we’d have liked to see more of him as a ballcarrier as a 10. A lot of that was due to the defence we were up against, who were very strong in that area. He should certainly get opportunities to carry this week.

“He seemed okay, yes [when told the team]. He’s enjoyed the parts of the game where he and Adam have played together.”

Townsendhimself,ofcourse, spent a large part of his Scotland career flitting from standoff to centre.

“It definitely had a bearing on my development, but it didn’t affect my thoughts on these two guys,” he said.

“I didn’t really like 12, so I played mainly at 13. I think both Adam and Finn have the attributes to play 12 better than certainly when I played and because Finn has played 12 and done well there, that’s in my memory bank.

“I see the role of 10 and 12 more to facilitate and work hard to make sure they are in

“We believe that combination can put Argentina under a lot of pressure, both through their passing and kicking but also their running threats”