Rory Best urges Gatland to look to Russell

Former Ireland captain Rory Best has spoken up about the potential value that Scottish flyhalf Finn Russell could provide in the Lions camp, if given a chance by head coach Warren Gatland.

This, Best has said in light of the commonly-held notion that Gatland favours the more robust types in his teams.

"He's all too aware of the need to have players that can pick a lock," Best said in a recent podcast.

"He is very much about big, physical guys that will dominate collisions and dominate the gainline, but he does like someone who can do something different, like a Shane Williams.

"On a Lions selection, if you take Finn Russell as one of three 10s, if he turns out to be all over the place and a bit of a loose cannon, then he just becomes your third 10.

"But if he hits a run of form, he can do things no other 10 in the northern hemisphere can do, maybe with the exception of Romain Ntamack. He is an unbelievable talent when you get him in the right frame of mind and in the right shape.

"What Warren Gatland can do, he can surround him with Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton. When you have the luxury of those two guys, you can bring in a Finn Russell and see what he does, see how reacts to the environment."

Best was also complimentary of Gregor Townsend and what the coach has done with the Scottish team of late, comparing the side they are now to the one they were before.

"For me there was always a degree of, if you get a stranglehold of Scotland up front, there's nothing they can do about it," he said.

"As a pack of forwards you felt if you played well, there was nothing they could do about it. Whereas I think in this Six Nations they've shown a lot more.

"Scotland now look like a team that you're not going to just turn up and dominate. You've got to play very well now to dominate them.

"If you don't and you get the likes of Ali Price, Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg at the back, give them space, they can be absolutely destructive."