'Finn Russell spent three days boozing and still pulled off magic – he's a game-changer'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

England great Chris Ashton has detailed the extent of Finn Russell's talents - even after three days of boozing.Scotland's string-pulling No10 has made a swift recovery and been named in Gregor Townsend's starting XV for Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham.

A sickening head collision with winger Darcy Graham left fans fearing for both players' involvement, though Graham has not been risked for Week 3 of the Six Nations.And Ashton - who scored 20 tries in 44 appearances for England - knows all too well the impact Russell can have on games after teaming up when they played for the Barbarians together in 2018.

The touring team has a reputation for not skimping on rugby's social side along with the competitive - but Russell was well able to juggle both seamlessly."There was a few passes in the Baa Baas squad, and he's been drinking for three days," he told the Daily Record, via 10Bet. "He's still throwing these passes, and I'm like, 'Wow, there's just not many fly-halves that would have been able to hit that pass or kick.' "Because you think he's not seen it, you think he's missed it, but then he throws it and you're like, 'Wow, how does he manage to get that away?' He does that every single week."Bath fly-half Russell, 32, passed the standard head injury assessment (HIA) during the Week 2 defeat to Ireland but was stopped from re-joining the game after displaying signs of memory loss.

And after losing both him and Graham in one fell swoop, the Murrayfield hosts struggled to stay competitive with the world's No2 team.And while Graham may not be available, former Glasgow Warriors talisman Russell's return is a major boon for the visitors.