Finn Russell stars in Racing 92's victory after selection snub
- 2084
Finn Russell has responded to his Scotland selection snub in sensational fashion steering Racing 92 to a 38-31 victory over Top 14 champions Montpellier.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend challenged Finn Russell to win his place back into the Scotland squad through form when he named his squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.
"For someone like Finn Russell, who has missed out on the squad and has played a lot of games for us in the past, it’s a challenge for him to show his form and consistency over the next few weeks." he stated when addressing the questions around Russell's exclusion.
Russell has responded in style guiding Racing 92 to a steller win over Montpellier in a match where he was directly involved in 28 of the 38 points scored.
The 30-year-old scored 18 points from the tee and assisted two tries. He also created a linebreak that lead to another try and kicked the final three points that effectively ended Montpellier's chances.
He ended the match with 13 kicks from hand, two offloads, 18 passes, two try assists, and six running metres as he dictated play.
Finn Russell pulling the strings 🧙♂️ pic.twitter.com/XGUhAWqj9w
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) October 22, 2022
Racing’s victory, thanks to Russell’s contributions, sends the 2016 winners up to fifth after just four wins from eight matches this term.
“He’s got a bag of tricks, he always brings the magic. He was awesome tonight,” Francis Saili told reporters after the match
“Everyone was surprised with him not being included in the team.
“Finn’s got other priorities, with his baby due in the next few weeks, so he’s got other things to focus on than the Scotland squad,” the ex-New Zealand centre added.
Russell kicked two penalties in the first half and converted Kamikamica’s try. In the second, he was involved in his side's third and fourth tries. He offloaded to Baptiste Chouzenoux who set up Donovan Taofifenua and then cross-kicked to Juan Imhoff.
He converted one of his two touchline conversions and slotted a penalty from halfway, before sending another through the uprights from five metres further back.
FT | Racing 92 38-31 Montpellier
— Illtud W. Dafydd (@IlltudDafydd) October 22, 2022
18 points and an assist from Russell
He slotted this 55m penalty too to deny the visitors a bonus point#R92MHR #Top14 pic.twitter.com/yPRqxQCPTH
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