MAGNUS Bradbury claims he hasn’t seen the video clip which has been doing the rounds this week showing Finn Russell trotting back into position against France after chasing his own kick downfield with insufficient urgency for some pundits.  

The discovery and wide distribution of that particular moment in the match is typical of the general response to Scotland’s humbling defeat to Les Bleus.  

Viewed in isolation and discounting various other relevant factors, it looks bad. But, in reality, it was Russell’s poor kick, a disconnected chase and some woeful tackling which really damaged Scotland. The stand-off could have raced at breakneck speed all the way back to his own try-line (having just led the chase from his own 22 to the French 22), but it wouldn’t have made any difference to the outcome of that move, and it isn’t what he is on the park to do. Whatever Russell’s faults – and he has a few – an unwillingness to graft isn’t one of them. 

More generally, Scotland’s discipline and accuracy was not at the level required last Saturday, but the suggestion that these guys have suddenly turned into no-hopers who deserve to be lambasted on every media channel going is nonsensical. Against a team of France’s quality – arguably the best side on the planet at the moment – it would have been a cricket score if the hosts had played with as little conviction as has been suggested. 

“I’ve not seen the video you're talking about I’m afraid,” claimed Bradbury, rather unconvincingly, when asked about the Russell footage.  

“We don’t discuss it, to be honest,” he elaborated, when asked how the general criticism has affected the squad during this fallow week as they looked to regroup ahead of next week’s trip to Italy – for a game they not only need to win but win convincingly to avoid this Six Nations campaign being written off as a huge disappointment.  

“For us, all that matters is what’s going on within these four walls when we’re in camp,” he added. “You do pick up on stuff on Twitter and Instagram in terms of what people are saying. But, personally, I try not to read it. I’m sure the majority of the guys would share the same outlook on that.” 

Bradbury went on to explain that his gut feeling immediately after last weekend’s game was that he wanted to get back out on the pitch as soon as possible to right a few wrongs, but he now recognises that this mid-tournament break was exactly what the team needed. 

 “If we could play international Tests every single week, I’d love that,” he said. “But, from a sensible point of view, to have a couple of days to switch off mentally and physically is incredibly valuable.” 

It has been a roller-coaster campaign for the Scots so far, from the dizzying high of their opening weekend triumph over England, to the frustration of their narrow loss in Wales, to the sheer hopelessness of that thumping from France eight days ago. 

Italy have not tasted success in a championship match since beating Scotland in round three of the 2015 tournament, meaning 35 games without a win – but Bradbury stressed that they cannot be discounted as no-hopers next weekend. 

“We’ve always got respect for Italy,” he insisted. “I think you’d be stupid not to respect them. Especially at home, they are a really passionate bunch of guys and they front-up really well.  

“They’ve got a physical team who can punish you if you don’t get it right. Even when you play the Italian club teams like Benetton and Zebre, you need to start strongly and have a good first 20 minutes to ride that wave of passion and emotion that they come with.  

“We’re looking forward to it because it’s a chance to right our wrongs and finish the tournament on a high. 

“I’ve played in Rome previously in 2020. It’s an incredibly loud place to play. The fans are screaming and singing the whole time. But as soon as you step on the pitch, you try and shut it off.” 

With the status of the foot injury which kept Matt Fagerson out of the Wales game unclear at the moment, and Nick Haining now side-lined with a shoulder issue, Bradbury is favourite to retain the No 8 jersey against Italy.

However, Josh Bayliss has been in fine form for Bath since recovering from a concussion a fortnight ago, so could be a dark horse in the selection race, while Andy Christie brought dynamism on his debut as a second half substitute against France.

“The impact of the France game is hard to put that into words, to be honest,” concluded Bradbury.” It’s not necessarily checked the confidence because we know we haven’t become a bad team overnight. That result hasn’t changed that. We know ourselves that if we get things right, we can put teams away, but on the flipside if we get it wrong, we can struggle at times, as any nation would. 

“Things obviously didn’t go right in that game [against France] for 80 minutes and that’s why the result looked the way it did in the end. Going forward, it’s about delivering an 80-minute performance and delivering the things we’ve said we’re going to do through the week.”