GLASGOW Warriors say they are hoping to keep Finn Russell at the club despite a report claiming Racing 92 are offering him 450,000 euro per season to move to Paris next summer.
This is the second time Russell has been linked with a big-money move to France – last summer, Montpellier, where former Scotland coach Vern Cotter is now in charge, were linked with just as lucrative an offer, though nothing has come of it.
Russell is a key player for Glasgow, who have already been prepared to pay what it took at the time to keep the likes of Jonny Gray and Stuart Hogg at the club.
The issues for Russell, however, are a bit more complicated. He has fewer ties keeping him in Scotland while Racing are also said to be offering Dan Carter, one of the best fly-halves of all time, a one-year extension to his existing contract. The fresh challenge, change of scenery and the chance to work with a player of Carter's stature make an attractive package.
There were few signs of the speculation unsettling Russell as he went through his drills at training yesterday, sporting heavy strapping across his nose after breaking it in the bonus-point win over Munster at the weekend.
Russell clearly thinks he can play at the weekend, though the medics may have a different opinion and the coaches might have elected to rest him against Benetton Treviso anyway.
The side is definitely going to be without Alex Dunbar, who is out for six weeks after having surgery on a knee. He will miss the start of Glasgow's European Champions Cup campaign next month and is a major doubt for Scotland's matches against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand the month after that.
On the up side, Fraser Brown, the Scotland hooker, did train and is expected to play some role in this week's match, while Stuart Hogg, Jonny Gray and Adam Hastings all took some part in the session and should be available soon.
They will all be hoping Russell remains fit and focused, his importance to the team illustrated by the record he set at the weekend for a perfect start to the season off the kicking tee.
His 16 successes eclipse the 15 managed at the start of the 2014-15 season by Dan Biggar – a player, it should be noted, who was able to command a £600,000 salary for his move to Northampton Saints next summer.
No wonder Racing described Russell's 450,000 euros as occupying the "less expensive" end of the market for an international fly-half.
"This is the second one, there was the Montpellier one as well," observed Kenny Murray, the defence coach. "Everyone knows Finn’s situation: there are clubs chasing after him. Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Rugby, I’m sure, will be working to try and keep him here – and, ultimately, that will become Finn’s decision.
"Certainly we want him to stay at Scotstoun, he’s a big part of our team and how we play so that discussion will be ongoing between Finn and Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Rugby over the next few months."
While his kicking has been important, it was his all-round game that won all the plaudits in the win over Munster last week. "He played really well," Murray observed. "People look at what he does in attack, which is important but defensively, we got two turnovers as a result of Finn making really good low tackles.
"People forget that part of his game. As a stand-off, he’s probably one of the best tacklers in world rugby. He’s got a lot to his game other than just his attack.
"Then the broken nose came from a great kick reception. He’s very good in the air. His nose is a bit swollen today – keeps him quiet!"
For Murray, all this is just background noise while the team prepare to tackle Treviso, a side who have won their previous two games and will be unusually confident when they travel to Scotstoun.
"We know Treviso are going to be on a high," he said. "They’re a smart team, scored some interesting tries, and they are brutal. They’ve a very good forward pack, a good set-piece, very good runners in the midfield."
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