Jonny Wilkinson believes ‘old school’ Finn Russell is ‘changing the game’

Legendary fly-half Jonny Wilkinson has heaped praise on Scotland playmaker Finn Russell following the opening weekend of the Six Nations.

The 31-year-old starred for the first 45 minutes of their clash against Wales as they moved into a 27-0 advantage early in the second period.

Although the Welsh responded superbly and almost snatched an unlikely triumph, Wilkinson preferred to focus on what Russell did well.

Complacency and discipline

The Scotsman struggled to get control of the match after the interval, but he blamed complacency and also called out his team-mates for the side’s disciplinary woes.

Russell is taking on the added responsibility of captain in this year’s Six Nations and Wilkinson insists that the playmaker is the “leading” fly-half in rugby.

“He’s certainly in that zone where he’s leading the game. There are loads and loads of good number 10s out there but he’s the one who’s got the energy with him,” the England legend told the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast.

“He’s just in that creative space where he’s starting to change the game a little bit, just the way it looks and the way it can look.

“It’s impressive. You talk about that first half, with Wales being a little bit off and slow, but he just made it look easy at times.

“I think it’s really exciting for the game right now because having someone that’s just changing the shape and showing that things can be done slightly differently.”

Maverick

Despite the modern day theme of playing to a structure, Russell is quite happy to go off the cuff if an opportunity presents itself, a talent Wilkinson believes is “old school”.

“He’s bringing back some of the old school ability to just create something out of nothing from that 10 spot and being able to take people on one-on-one,” he added.

“He’s happy to throw these long passes from the midfield, which have kind of gone a little bit out of fashion with the defence the way it is at the moment. He also seems to have the vision at the moment to be able to find the kicking game.

“Certainly the team around him are benefiting from that energy and Scotland are starting to look – and have been for the last few years – like they’re very much on the up.”

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