Scotland fans may have to wait a little longer than they thought to see Finn Russell back in the blue 10 shirt as it appears unlikely he’ll be available for selection for the autumn test opener against Georgia.
Russell has been welcomed back into the fold with a place in the 40-strong squad for the six-game Autumn schedule, but his involvement for club Racing 92 in the Heineken Cup Final against Exeter Chiefs means he won’t get a necessary full week’s training before the opening game of the series, which is a Friday kick-off.
Captain Stuart Hogg, second row mainstay Jonny Gray and the versatile Sam Skinner certainly won’t play in the Georgia game due to Exeter’s Premiership final the week after the European final, and that duo could even be in doubt for the game against Wales in Llanelli that will finally wind up the 2020 Six Nations for the Scots.
“The Exeter players won’t be available for two weeks,” said Townsend. “Finn will be in our camp that week so we will have a decision to make about whether he is going to play against Georgia. Then we will have a decision to make when the three Exeter guys join us for the Wales week.
“We are fortunate that three of those players are three of our most experienced players. Finn is on 49 caps, Jonny over 50 and Stuart over 70; they have been around the group, they know the players and the coaches and know the rugby we are aiming to play.
“We have to find ways to build that cohesion as well. They are all going to be online via zoom for a meeting on Tuesday night. We will be filming training sessions and sending out information to them during the next two weeks, albeit they have their own games to focus on.”
All that noted, both coach and player have learned from their disagreement in the spring that saw the mercurial stand-off miss the four Six Nations games played.
“It has been a very good time for learning,” admitted Townsend. “I’ve certainly reflected on the events and what I could have done better with Finn and in my role as a coach.
“I’ve had plenty of time to learn off others during that period, and you learn from your experiences. As a coach you make lots of mistakes throughout the season so it has been a time to put all of that into the memory banks and make sure you become a better coach for the experience.”
For Russell’s side, Townsend detects a real desire to return to Scotland camp, and while he can’t say whether the two are on the same page, there has certainly been a regular and full dialogue.
“It’s hard to answer that question,” he said. “It’s not as if we had a real breach to discuss.
“We’re connecting much more, we’ve been in regular conversation, and certainly through the time away from rugby Finn has been really keen to come back and play for Scotland. That’s a real positive for everyone.
“He’s in great form, he’ll be coming into our camp after a European final, so we’re looking forward to working with him.”
Townsend has picked as many as 40 players not because he’s wary of possible Covid-19 complications but because he has the opportunity – in recent times the injury list’s been as long as those available. It means that some notable names – Allan Dell, Magnus Bradbury, Matt Scott, the back-to-form Sam Hidalgo-Clyne – have been squeezed out because for once the coach is slightly spoiled for choice.
He also has to accommodate two new entries in South African-born Duhan van der Merwe and Oli Kebble. Project players under the old residency rules – in van der Merwe’s case the project has got an A plus – they come straight in, and Edinburgh’s Jaco Van der Walt could follow midway through November.
The usual Toonie bolter – he delights in selecting unexpected players – is Harlequins’ scrum-half Scott Steele, who was out of contract after leaving London Irish but has stuck impressively just down the road at The Stoop.
James Lang and Blair Cowan have been recalled, Townsend having logged their form before lockdown and he has a lot more to go on since the Gallagher Premiership finished their playing schedule in full post-lockdown, unlike the PRO14 where the coach has just a handful of Glasgow and Edinburgh games to assess.
Nick Grigg, Damien Hoyland, Blade Thomson and Richie Gray – after a two year gap and his decision not to go to the World Cup for family reasons – also come back into the squad.
Injuries deprive Townsend of Duncan Taylor and Rory Hutchinson, but he’s intrigued like many with the development of Huw Jones as a full-back at Glasgow.
“He’s both really,” said the coach when asked whether Jones had been picked as a 13 or 15. “With every game he’s playing he seems to be adapting to the change to full back and growing in confidence, and a confident Huw Jones is a really good player to have in our squad.
“If he did have to play centre I’m sure in his current form he’d do a really good job there, but his development at full back is a really interesting one for us, it’s a position we’ve maybe not had much depth as we’d like, especially compared to other positions.”
Townsend doesn’t sound like he expects any fans at BT Murrayfield for the games, noting “we were more optimistic a couple of months ago than we are now”.
“Let’s hope we can get some supporters back whether that is by the start or even our final game at home. It helps our players and our supporters are missing live sport.
“I think the players have adjusted to it really well. You forget there are no fans there when you see the level of quality and intensity.
“The players have a big role to play in terms of the energy they can bring to make sure it is a Test match rather than a training game. Even those not playing can help those on the field create energy.
Scotland squad:
Forwards: Simon Berghan (Edinburgh), Jamie Bhatti (Edinburgh), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Cowan (London Irish), Scott Cummings (Glasgow), Cornell du Preez (Worcester), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Jonny Gray (Exeter), Richie Gray (Glasgow), Rob Harley (Glasgow), Nick Haining (Edinburgh), Oli Kebble (Glasgow), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Willem Nel (Edinburgh), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Sam Skinner (Exeter), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh), Blade Thomson (Scarlets), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), George Turner (Glasgow), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh).
Backs: Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Nick Grigg (Glasgow), Chris Harris (Gloucester), Adam Hastings (Glasgow), Stuart Hogg (Exeter, captain), George Horne (Glasgow), Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh), Sam Johnson (Glasgow), Huw Jones (Glasgow), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh), James Lang (Harlequins), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Ali Price (Glasgow), Finn Russell (Racing 92), Scott Steele (Harlequins), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh), Duncan Weir (Worcester).
