Six Nations: Scotland's Adam Hastings proves point in Finn Russell absence
- Published
Six Nations: Ireland 19-12 Scotland highlights
Scotland fly-half Adam Hastings hopes his display against Ireland "earned a bit of trust" after revealing Finn Russell called him pre-match.
Hastings impressed in Scotland's 19-12 defeat in Dublin, his first Six Nations start, which came due to Russell's disciplinary-related absence.
The Racing 92 fly-half FaceTimed Hastings on Friday, which the Glasgow Warrior says "meant the world to me".
"I was just wanting to go out and put in a half-decent performance," he said.
"People have questioned my ability and performances in the past so it was nice to put in a steady performance.
"I spoke to Finn on Friday night. He gave me a FaceTime and wished me all the best and he also sent me a text just before the game.
"So yeah, we're fine. At the end of the day we're still mates and we look out for each other. For someone in his position to do that meant the world. It was really nice."
Next up for Scotland is a Calcutta Cup meeting with England at Murrayfield on Saturday.
The Scots are unbeaten in their last two meetings with their old rivals, but Hastings is expecting a "huge" challenge.
It is unclear whether Russell will be available for selection, but his replacement is ready to step into the breach again in Edinburgh.
"They got to a World Cup final not so long ago, they are a team in form," he said. "The last two years we've played really well against England so I think we can feed off that.
"Would I love the opportunity to run out against them next week? Yeah of course. We'll see what happens. Finn is a quality player so it's hard to leave him out the squad."
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