The gifted stand-off has not played for his country since an incident on the eve of the Six Nations which led to a major rift with head coach Townsend. Russell was accused of “a breach of team protocol” around alcohol consumption after checking into the team hotel in Edinburgh before Scotland’s opening match with Ireland. Townsend excluded Russell from the Irish match and the fly-half was also missing for games against England, Italy and France. The pair made their peace during lockdown and Russell was named on Monday in the Scotland squad for the autumn internationals. Russell, who will play for French side Racing 92 against Exeter in the Heineken Champions Cup final on Saturday, has not played for Scotland for over a year. Asked if it was a relief to have put the dispute with Townsend behind him, Russell said: “I think that has been behind me for a while now. We’ve managed to patch things up – myself and Gregor – and that’s all in the past. "It is great to be back involved but I’ve not really thought about it that much with the final this weekend. If we didn’t have the final this weekend and I was meeting up with the team for the training camp they are having at the moment, it might be different, but as it is I’ve not really thought too much about the Scotland stuff.” Russell will join up with the Scotland squad on Sunday. A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription. Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up. Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website. Joy Yates Editorial Director