Former Scotland prop Peter Wright believes that Gregor Townsend will not pick Finn Russell for the 2023 World Cup and that it may well be the end of the fly-half’s international career.
The head coach stunned everyone by leaving the Racing 92 star out of his squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.
Townsend stated that his omission was down to form, despite the fact Glasgow playmaker Ross Thompson was picked ahead of him having played barely any rugby.
No World Cup for Russell?
“Gregor’s pretty much saying he is not taking Finn to the World Cup,” Wright told BBC Scotland. “Reading between the lines, if (Blair) Kinghorn and (Adam) Hastings play well, it could be the end of his Scotland career.”
Townsend and Russell have endured a strained relationship since the former became head coach in 2017.
The duo reportedly clashed at half-time during the 2019 Calcutta Cup clash before the fly-half was axed from the squad ahead of the 2020 Six Nations following a “breach of team protocol.”
Russell was also one of six players who made an unauthorised visit to an Edinburgh pub following their encounter with Italy earlier this year.
He was subsequently dropped to the bench for Scotland’s final Six Nations encounter against Ireland before being ‘rested’ for the mid-year series in Argentina.
“Finn has played just about every minute for Racing this season,” Wright said. “He’s been up and down, but he played against Montpellier, the French champions, on Saturday and scored 18 points, assisted three tries, had a brilliant game.
“That’s Finn. Finn will be like, ‘I’ll show you’. That’s what he can do.
“He’s not played badly for Racing, he has been pretty consistent, he is kicking goals, he is looking a lot slimmer. Gregor’s rationale doesn’t marry up.
“I would rather he came out and said, ‘Finn’s a complete distraction in the squad, and we believe that not having him in the squad makes it stronger’. At least there’s credibility in that.
“Him coming out and saying form and performance when Ross Thompson has hardly played and Blair Kinghorn is still learning the role, I don’t believe there is credibility in that.”
Wrong decision
Former Scotland fly-half Ruaridh Jackson believes that Townsend has made the wrong decision by leaving Russell out of the squad.
“I’d have Finn in the squad. I don’t think there’s a 10 in Scotland who is close to Finn,” Jackson said.
“In Scotland, you don’t get many world-class players, and Finn on his day is one of the best fly-halves in the world, and can win you a game.
“You could look at Erik ten Hag with Cristiano Ronaldo (at Manchester United), is he taking one guy out for the sake of the culture of the squad? But say the real reasons.
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“There are a lot of smoke and mirrors still, I don’t really see why you’d keep him out.”