(Reuters) – Scotland flyhalf Finn Russell was named in the team to face New Zealand on Sunday at Murrayfield, days after being called up as injury cover and weeks after his test career looked to be at an end.
It is a dramatic return for the 30-year-old, who was initially left out of Scotland’s squad by coach Gregor Townsend for their four autumn tests, leaving his international future looking bleak.
But after Adam Hastings suffered an injury in last weekend’s win over Fiji, Russell was recalled, despite having had a strained relationship with the coach since walking out on the squad before the 2020 Six Nations Championship, when he publicly criticised Townsend’s methods.
He returned to the side after the pair patched up their differences but was dropped for this year’s Six Nations finale against Ireland after being one of six players on an unauthorised night out in Edinburgh and was then rested for the tour of Argentina in July.
But Townsend, who recalled Russell at the start of the week, has elected to field the mercurial flyhalf rather than start with Blair Kinghorn in the pivot’s role for Sunday’s test in one of three changes to the side that beat Fiji 28-12 last Saturday.
Sione Tuipulotu also comes in for Cameron Redpath at centre while Fraser Brown replaces George Turner at hooker.
Scotland will field seven players on Sunday from the side that faced New Zealand in their last meeting five years ago when the All Blacks won 22-17 in a closely contested test at Murrayfield.
Team: 15-Stuart Hogg, 14-Darcy Graham, 13-Chris Harris, 12- Sione Tuipulotu, 11-Duhan van der Merwe, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Ali Price, 8-Matt Fagerson, 7-Hamish Watson, 6-Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Richie Gray, 3-Zander Fagerson, 2- Fraser Brown, 1-Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16-Ewan Ashman, 17-Rory Sutherland, 18-WP Nel, 19-Jonny Gray, 20-Jack Dempsey, 21-Ben White, 22-Blair Kinghorn, 23-Mark Bennett.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
