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Townsend: More still to come from Finn Russell

FinnRussell16SB800
Gregor Townsend believes Scotland and Glasgow Warriors have a man for the occasion in Finn Russell, but the man at the helm is backing his star to continue to up his game.

Gregor Townsend believes Scotland and Glasgow Warriors have a man for the occasion in Finn Russell, but the man at the helm is backing his star to continue to up his game.

Fly-half Russell has seemingly gone from strength to strength over recent months, and with an exciting RBS 6 Nations to come in the New Year, the development shows no signs of stopping.

Russell was influential in Glasgow’s impressive double-header victory over Racing 92 in Europe, backing that up with another ten points in the morale-boosting success over Edinburgh on Saturday.

It’s form which Townsend is hoping the 24-year-old can carry to even bigger occasions.

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And with Scotland gearing up for their RBS 6 Nations opener with Ireland on February 4, Townsend believes Russell’s experience – which includes eight games in the Championship – will continue to come to the fore, predicting that bigger and better things are still to come.

“He loves a challenge, he loves big games,” said Townsend. “There’s a lot more to come from Finn and a lot more to come out of his game.

“He can play better – a lot better. I thought he played better in the away game [against Racing]. He’s full of confidence, his running game is coming through, he’s taking defences on with ball in hand and some of his kicking has been excellent.

“He’s the first to admit that there are two or three things that he’d like to have back again. That happens a lot at 10 as you have so many decisions to make. It helps you making decisions through experience.

“Like any of our players, we want to express themselves, play to their strengths, be confident in their own ability. He’s obviously very confident just now, going to bottle that and keep that for the rest of his career.”

Click here for the complete 2017 RBS 6 Nations fixture list