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Gregor Townsend on why Finn Russell is back and Darcy Graham isn't
By PA
Finn Russell has a “big role” to play after being passed fit as Scotland seek a record fifth straight Calcutta Cup victory against England in the Six Nations, according to head coach Gregor Townsend.
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The fly-half was substituted with a concussion during the defeat to Ireland two weeks ago after clashing heads with team-mate Darcy Graham, who despite having observed a 12-day concussion protocol will not play at Twickenham on Saturday.
The winger left the field at Murrayfield on a stretcher and wearing a neck brace after colliding with Russell in the 22nd minute of Scotland’s 32-18 loss. He was taken to hospital where he underwent x-rays and a CT scan, all of which came back clear.
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Both players have observed the necessary criteria for returning to full contact, but owing to the seriousness of Graham’s injury he will not be risked.
“You never know with concussions how long it’s going to take until players are fully recovered,” said Townsend. “Finn was symptom-free the day after the Ireland game, he had to go on a 12-day recovery protocol like Darcy, but he’s been fine ever since and trained with us fully from Wednesday.
“In discussion with the medical team, just because it was a bigger injury, Darcy was on the 12-day protocol and was symptom-free after a couple of days and has been great.
“But we felt it wasn’t right to bring him into full contact this week, just to give him an opportunity to have another week’s recovery. He’s trained with us out in Spain, just not the contact elements.
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“He’ll probably just be out for a week. He might not play next week as it’s a fallow week so we know he would be fully fit for our next game.”
Townsend has been beaten only once by England during his tenure and will be looking to his number 10 Russell to inspire a response after the disappointment of the loss to Ireland.
Scotland have won the last four Six Nations meetings between the sides including a 30-21 victory in 2024, but sit fourth in this year’s standings after two matches and face a potentially campaign-defining game against Steve Borthwick’s side.
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“They’ve been really good games (against England), I think they’ve been open and when they have been open your 10 has got a big role to play in that,” said Townsend. “(Russell) has enjoyed those games that have gone to the wire as well.”
The coach was asked whether the run his side are on against England will affect their psychology ahead of the match.
“No,” he said. “This is a very tough fixture. Playing at Twickenham is always one of our hardest games, and in recent years we’ve got on the right side of the result but they’ve been very close games and we’ve had to play very well to get those wins.
“I’m not sure if there was a fear factor (around Twickenham), just a place that over history has been very tough for us because England are always a strong team.
“This group of players have had the experience of winning at Twickenham which can help as you prepare for the game, but the reality is what happens in 80 minutes.”
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