Following the now infamous Sunday Times Interview with Finn Russell at the weekend, Scottish Rugby have released a video featuring Gregor Townsend’s side of events.
The Scotland Head Coach is keen to stress that no one player is bigger than the team, but also that he had thought there had been a positive resolution after the drinking incident a fortnight ago.
The timing of the video is clearly a PR rebuttle to yesterday’s interview in which Russell stated that, despite working with Townsend for over 8 years, they have “clashed a lot” and that he doesn’t “really know him at all”.
The Racing 92 fly half even went as far as to say that, as it stands, “it’s not really possible for me to be involved” (in the Scotland setup). He was keen to state that it wasn’t an issue with fellow players but rather “a personal thing between me and Gregor”
The escalating war of words makes a return to Scotland fold for Russell seem more and more unlikely, at least while Gregor Townsend remains in charge.
Nonetheless, Scotland supporters will be hoping that a resolution can be found that lets their star playmaker return to Scotland duty.