Russell's silky pass broke Welsh resistance at Murrayfield
Is there anything this man cannot do? A gorgeous Finn Russell offload helped Scotland put the foot down against Wales in the Guinness Six Nations at BT Murrayfield.
The home side’s fly-half let an outrageous pass out the back door go to Kyle Steyn in the second half, giving his winger the easiest of finishes.
Russell had taken the ball to the line himself and with all three of Tomos Williams, Ken Owens and Rio Dyer being sucked towards him in defence, the Bath-bound No 10 flicked a gorgeous ball to Steyn.
? Trust this man to Russell up some magic ? @Scotlandteam #GuinnessSixNations #SCOvWAL pic.twitter.com/uiCes5yHpo
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 11, 2023
It was one of the many highlights of Russell’s performance as Scotland showed no signs of letting the momentum from last week’s Calcutta Cup victory over England at Twickenham slip.
Scotland were only 13-7 to the good when Russell’s bit of magic gave them some breathing space against Warren Gatland‘s side.
Russell had nudged two penalties before converting hooker George Turner’s try to put Gregor Townsend’s men 13-0 up after half-an-hour.
Opposing captain Owens crossed in response for Wales before Russell turned the game on its head.
After that pass, the Racing 92 man continued in a similar rich vein of form, with Steyn again the beneficiary.
Finn Russell ? Kyle Steyn
A reminder – Scotland have never won their two opening games in the #SixNations era… they'll never be closer than they are now!#BBCRugby #SCOvWAL pic.twitter.com/nciJSSTe7E
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 11, 2023
This time Russell put boot to a ball with an inch-perfect cross-field kick allowing the Glasgow Warriors captain to waltz over for his second score of the game, giving Scotland a sizeable cushion.
Read more: Watch stunning Duhan van der Merwe try against England
Liam Williams’s sin-binning for killing the ball in the red zone had allowed Scotland the luxury of an extra man and Russell made sure they took full advantage with the Wales full-back off the field, his absence leaving plenty of space in the back field.
Russell wasn’t done there, though. A lovely kick-pass to Duhan van der Merwe, the hero at Twickenham, set the big winger away before he popped inside for Blair Kinghorn – on for Stuart Hogg in the first-half after the former captain failed an HIA – who steamed in for the bonus-point score.
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