Gareth Thomas explains why Scotland were right to drop Finn Russell

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “He’s probably Scotland’s greatest-ever individual player,” said Thomas. open image in gallery Blair Kinghorn could start at fly-half for Scotland and Thomas insists he isn’t a ‘rubbish player’ “We need to realise these aren’t rubbish players,” he said. He’s not sulking and he wants to come back as a better individual and a better team player.” open image in gallery Russell impressed for club side Racing 92 in the immediate aftermath of his Scotland omission Thomas was in Glasgow this week as the face of the Tackle HIV awareness campaign, aiming to tackle stigma and misunderstanding of HIV. “Science means that HIV is no longer a death sentence but the language that people use and the public education isn’t there yet, that’s what we need to change.” Tackle HIV, a campaign led by Gareth Thomas in partnership with ViiV Healthcare and the Terrence Higgins Trust, aims to tackle the stigma and misunderstanding around HIV.