Magic Matawalu can inspire Warriors - Russell

The 25-year-old came off the bench to score two second-half tries as the Warriors maintained their 100 per cent start to the GUINNESS PRO12 season with a 33-12 victory at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.

Matawalu's first try saw him make an interception in midfield to break away down the right and finish in the corner before being sent over by DTH van der Merwe.

The scrum-half arrived at Scotstoun in 2012, winning a Player of the Year award in his first season, and Russell, currently nursing a shoulder injury, believes he can star once again this season.

"Niko is a magician, it's as simple as that. He does things with a ball that no one else can and he is always making something positive happen for Glasgow," Russell told the Scotsman.

"His first try against Cardiff was a brilliant solo effort and piece of anticipation and then for the second you look at the way he supported DTH's run and was in the perfect position when the ball came to him and it was another fine effort.

"When Niko is coming on like he did at Cardiff, he just makes a huge impact and if the opposition are tiring then he is the man to exploit that."

Wins against champions Leinster and the Blues have left Warriors second in the table but Russell believes there is still more to come from last season's runners-up ahead of Saturday's trip to Newport Gwent Dragons.

"We also made quite a few errors against the Blues and although that is always likely to happen when you are just two games into the season, it is something the boys will be keen to sort," he added.

"But you can't argue with two wins against teams of the calibre of Leinster and Cardiff and we have given ourselves a good platform to go into the Dragons game."

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