A VERY SAD NEWS FOR SCOTTISH RUGBY: HE IS BACK....

Hastings injury opens door to Russell return
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend refused to rule out a recall for Finn Russell if Adam Hastings fails to recover from injury in time to face New Zealand next week.

Hastings, forced off in Saturday’s victory over Fiji with a head injury, also has a knee issue. Russell, the 30-year-old fly-half, was left out of the squad amid speculation there had been a breakdown in his relationship with Townsend.

The head coach claimed Russell had been omitted due to question marks over his “form and consistency” levels, but, asked if he would consider a recall, Townsend said: “If Adam is out, Finn would be in the mix, of course.

“He was disappointed not to be in the squad. If we decide to bring another 10, he’ll be one of the ones we’ll be looking at.”

Scotland looked set for a smooth afternoon when George Turner’s early try put them ahead, but the visitors – under former Scotland head coach Vern Cotter – hit back with two tries and temporarily had the hosts on the ropes.

Touchdowns either side of the interval, from Hastings and Duhan van der Merwe, helped regain the upper hand, before replacement Ben White added a late try in the closing stages.

“We learnt a lesson in that first half and it was much better in the second half,” Townsend said. “We improved to win the game but there are certainly things we’ll have to improve for next week.”