Finn Russell has scooped the fifth and final Guinness Six Nations Player of the Round award for his barnstorming performance in Scotland’s incredible comeback at Twickenham.
The fly-half was the catalyst as the visitors turned a 31-0 deficit on its head to lead late on before George Ford’s last-gasp try meant that Russell and co. had to settle for a draw in one of the most incredible Calcutta Cup clashes in memory.
Nine points of his own featured a lung-busting breakaway score brought about through razor-sharp reactions as he intercepted Owen Farrell to take it all the way, and two conversions.
But it was his performance as a playmaker that truly set the platform for his teammates to flourish.
His passing range was on show: short to set up Huw Jones for the go-ahead try; long to Sean Maitland to unlock the door for Darcy Graham’s second.
And Russell even had the numbers to back things up: gaining 545.3m off a round-leading 16 kicks, while demonstrating ruthless efficiency on the carry as he notched 11.6m on average.
To make things all the more remarkable, it later transpired that Russell did all of this while nursing a broken cheekbone, sustained while on domestic duty with Racing 92, shaking off the pain to ride a wave of adrenaline to the brink of history in one final curtain call for the 2019 Championship.
The decision – voted for by the general public – sees Russell complete the quintet of players awarded the honour throughout the Guinness Six Nations.
Round One – Blair Kinghorn
Round Two – Jonny May
Round Three – Liam Williams
Round Four – Joe Cokanasiga
Round Five – Finn Russell
The post Russell named Guinness Six Nations Player of the Round appeared first on Six Nations Rugby.
Source: 6 Nations