Rugby Union Today: Finn Russell dropped by Scotland

Colin Newboult

Another busy day in the rugby union game as the SRU announced that star fly-half Finn Russell will miss their Six Nations opener against Ireland.

What’s on the site

Scotland will be without Finn Russell for their first game of the Six Nations against Ireland and could be out for the whole tournament after the fly-half was released from the squad due to a breach of team protocol.

Elsewhere, we preview France and their chances in the upcoming international tournament. With Les Bleus hosting the 2023 World Cup, they have named a youthful squad looking ahead to that competition.

Finally, domestic action returns in England this weekend and we have delved into the main issues going into the contests in ‘The short side.’ One of the big matches takes place on Friday as Northampton Saints host London Irish at Franklin’s Gardens.

What’s in the news

Premiership Rugby have released the report into Saracens’ salary cap breaches, which outlines why they came to their initial decision. Following that announcement, Sarries’ owner and former chairman Nigel Wray made another statement on the Londoners’ website.

Meanwhile, England head coach Eddie Jones has set his current squad the target of becoming the ‘greatest team ever’ as they continue their preparations for the Six Nations.

What’s on social media

Simon Zebo has enjoyed his time on Twitter following the news that Racing team-mate Finn Russell has been dropped from the Scotland squad. Interestingly, Russell has also ‘liked’ Zebo’s tweets.

What’s on TV

Following the conclusion of the Champions Cup pool stages, the Premiership returns on BT Sport and they will broadcast Northampton Saints v London Irish, Bristol Bears v Gloucester and Harlequins v Saracens.

The World Rugby Sevens Series is also back and this weekend’s tournament, which is being shown on Sky Sports, comes from Hamilton.