The most shocking thing about Gregor Townsend axeing Finn Russell from the Scotland squad is that it’s not really a surprise.
Yesterday’s leak and subsequent confirmation of the decision just prompted the reaction: “You mean, he’s actually going to do it?!”
It’s never been #AsOne in 2022
Your Scotland squad for @autumnnations 🏴
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— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) October 19, 2022
There were plenty of clues. Anyone halfway close to the Scotland camp could detect the continuing disquiet. #AsOne? It’s never really been that way in 2022.
You’ve never felt that the dispute from 2020 that led to Russell walking out on Scotland has ever been truly resolved. In actual fact, you feel that some other players – Stuart Hogg for one – have been drawn into it.
Let’s first dispel that Russell’s omission has anything to do with ‘form and consistency’. But for the latter part of the England game and the Italy game, Russell was definitely not his best for Scotland in 2022. But he was quite clearly the best we had.
Moving on, I’ve watched three Racing 92 games this season. Russell looks fitter and trimmer than last season – he was clearly carrying an injury then that eventually required surgery, and maybe explains the poor performances against Wales and France.
In the games I’ve seen this autumn, his distribution has been as good as ever, his kicking excellent. The only heinous error I’ve seen him make was when lining up a penalty kick against Pau, he overran the time clock that operates in the Top 14.
Fourth out of four? Preposterous
Match report from a breathless win for the Cherry and Whites#GloucesterRugby v #BristolBears#GLOvBRIhttps://t.co/PwxDhyKL8l
— Gloucestershire Live Rugby (@GlosRugbyLive) October 15, 2022
Adam Hastings HAS been playing well for Gloucester. If this was merely a Russell/Hastings discussion then Townsend might have some semblance of a point. But the idea Finn is fourth out of four in a queue for the 10 shirt is plainly preposterous.
The idea propagated by Townsend that Blair Kinghorn is a serious alternative to Russell hasn’t ever held water. Really, he’s actually not even a serious alternative to Hastings.
Kinghorn was only first seriously proposed as a 10 at 25 – probably halfway through his complete professional career. Suddenly, almost immediately, he was international class and making his Scotland debut in the position less than four months later.
If he was ever really that good, multiple people must have made dreadful mistakes somewhere down the line. The breakneck pace at which he’s been proposed, promoted and now entrenched – starting the last four tests – shows how desperate they were for an alternative.
The third 10 in the squad, Ross Thompson, is a decentish prospect at Glasgow. But he’s played 20 minutes returning from injury this season. Form and consistency? It’s laughable.
‘Saving’ Hogg from himself
Removing Hogg as captain is only slightly more reasonable. Jamie Ritchie was going to be the next captain, that much was certain. He has strong leadership qualities and was quite rightly being groomed for the role. But probably not until after the World Cup.
Townsend on Wednesday talked a good line about saving Hogg from himself and “the burden” of captaincy. The full-back took the mediocre performances of the spring to heart, probably because he believed (as we all did) that 2021 was the start of something.
Hogg also isn’t the greatest at taking criticism and had become defensive at times. He often wondered aloud that all the focus was on “negatives”.
But if he was such a great captain, as Townsend averred, then the key was making him play to his ability within that job, surely. As he did throughout 2021.
It seems odd this has happened at the start of a year that will define Townsend’s career as Scotland head coach.
Perhaps it’s not outlandish to make such a late change of direction with Scotland’s two most high-profile – and in my opinion, best – players.
But if so, it surely wouldn’t be outlandish to change the coach either, should this autumn go particularly poorly.