Six Nations: Jonny Wilkinson adds to plaudits for Scotland captain Finn Russell after victory over Wales

Jonny Wilkinson gave a ringing endorsement of Scotland Six Nations captain Finn Russell's performance, after he helped his side to a 27-26 win away to Wales in their Six Nations opener.

Russell helped Scotland race into a 27-0 lead at the break in Cardiff last weekend, thanks to tries from Duhan van der Merwe and one from Pierre Schoeman.

But the Scots were left clinging onto their lead thanks to the efforts of James Botham, Rio Dyer, Aaron Wainwright and Alex Mann, who all crossed the line in the second half.

Despite the forgettable second-half performance from Gregor Townsend’s side, it was the first-half display from Russell in particular which caught the eye of 2003 World Cup winner Wilkinson.

“He’s certainly in that zone where he’s leading the game. There are loads and loads of good number 10s out there but he’s the one who’s got the energy with him,” Wilkinson told the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast.

“He’s just in that creative space where he’s starting to change the game a little bit, just the way it looks and the way it can look.

“It’s impressive. You talk about that first half, with Wales being a little bit off and slow, but he just made it look easy at times.

“I think it’s really exciting for the game right now because having someone that’s just changing the shape and showing that things can be done slightly differently.”

Scotland are now turning their attention to a clash against France at Murrayfield on Saturday, but have been dealt a huge blow after Richie Gray and Luke Crosbie were both ruled out of the competition.

Both players were injured in the win over Wales, as Gray damaged his bicep while Crosbie suffered a shoulder problem.

To compound Townsend's woes, Blair Kinghorn is still not fit enough to return after a knee issue kept him out of last Saturday's match.

However, Grant Gilchrist is in contention to come back into the side after serving a one-week ban.

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