Gregor Townsend offers olive branch - but Finn Russell must agree team code of standards

Gregor Townsend has left the door open for Finn Russell to rejoin the Scotland squad but stressed he must sign up to the new standards of behaviour that have been set.

Townsend released a lengthy statement in response to a newspaper interview in which Russell expressed his frustrations over the international set-up and outlined the breakdown of his relationship with the head coach.

The former Glasgow boss stressed his senior players had helped shape the new squad environment after the disappointment of failing to get out of their World Cup pool.

There appears next to no chance that Russell will return for the remainder of the Guinness Six Nations after missing the opening two games following a breach of team discipline, and Townsend warned changes would not be made for one player.

“The door will be open to any player with the required level of ability – if they commit to being a trusted member of the team,” Townsend said in a statement released by the Scottish Rugby Union.

“It’s been made clear that Finn could be a part of that future. However, he stated at the weekend that everything else has to change for him to come back, rather than accept and adhere to the standards currently being lived by the group. I hope this situation can be resolved, but our focus is on working with the squad and building on the positive work that’s gone in from the

players for our first two games.”

Despite telling Russell he would not be involved in the opener against Ireland, Townsend felt he had ironed out some differences with his former Glasgow player who was left out pf the squad for an alleged breach of a drinking code.

“Finn left camp on the Sunday night because of a disagreement over alcohol with fellow players and chose to miss the following day’s training and meetings,” he said.

“I arranged to meet with him that evening. It was a really positive meeting where we talked openly about life, rugby and what it means to play for Scotland. I left that meeting, after almost three hours, really optimistic that Finn would play a major part in our environment and be a committed team member. Unfortunately, things have not unfolded as well as we would have hoped.”

Townsend explained why guidelines for behaviour had changed to ensure players were at their best.

“We have players who come from around a dozen different clubs and it’s really important they commit to an agreed standard of behaviour, which builds trust and is at the bedrock of a high-performance environment.

“These standards don’t change for one player, even if that’s not what they experience in their club setting.

“A really pleasing aspect of the last three weeks has been seeing the group commit to this high-performance standard.

“Our team leaders made the decision there would be no drinking after our opening match of the Six Nations.”