Frustrated Scotland explain how they can fix Six Nations heartache

The stand-off acknowledged that had he landed his last-gasp conversion at Twickenham it could have been the Scots going head to head with their hosts for the title on Saturday night.

As it is, France will be crowned Six Nations champions if they defeat Scotland with a bonus point, and any sort of victory is likely to be enough given the massive points difference advantage they hold over their nearest rivals, England and Ireland.

Fabien Galthie’s side will know exactly what they need before the game kicks off at Stade de France. Super Saturday begins with Italy v Ireland at 2.15pm and continues with Wales v England at 4.45pm before the main event gets underway in Saint-Denis at 8pm (9pm local).

Regardless of the result in Paris, Scotland are likely to finish fourth following wins over Italy and Wales and losses to Ireland and England.

Going into the final round of fixtures, leaders France are one point ahead of England, two clear of Ireland and five above fourth-placed Scotland. A fantastical sequence of results could still see Gregor Townsend’s team crowned champions but Russell knows they could have been serious contenders had he converted Duhan van der Merwe’s late try in the 16-15 loss to England in round three.

“If we'd have won that England game, it would have been a very different outlook on the tournament,” said Russell. “We'd have been here for a straight shootout with France for who wins the tournament, and I think everyone would have viewed it as a positive tournament, whereas that loss could have very easily gone the other way.

“So that kind of shapes how the tournament's been viewed, I suppose. Yeah, it's frustrating, I think, having that loss and potentially not having the 80-minute performances that we've needed, but we've still got a chance on Saturday to kind of fix all that and try and have an 80-minute performance against one of the best teams in the world.”

Russell rates the England performance as Scotland’s best of the tournament as they outscored the home side by three tries to one. But they ended up losing 16-15 and Russell was off target with all three conversion attempts. He acknowledged it was fine margins and stressed his determination to make amends here in Paris.

“I think the England game is probably the one that got away this year, which for me personally is really frustrating. I think we all know why,” said Russell.

“But if we can finish up with a win this weekend, then I would say the frustration for the England game, it would still be there, obviously, but I think we could look back at this tournament as a decent enough tournament. So, yes, we'll have to wait and see how the game goes then we'll be able to assess and look back on the tournament as to where we are as a team and as a group.

“I think we played really well against England and we didn't get the win. It's probably our best performance of the tournament. There's probably a few folk questioning how the Scotland team is going, but if I hit that kick or one of the kicks, then it's probably viewed very differently. I think once you get to the end of the tournament, then you can fully assess how it's been and how you've played. And unfortunately, at this level, it's all about the results which can be tough. But we'll see how Saturday night goes and we'll reassess from there.

“I'd say if we get a win on Saturday, it'll be brilliant, obviously, to finish on a high.”