{"id":191422,"date":"2025-06-17T10:22:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T10:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/191422\/"},"modified":"2025-06-17T10:22:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T10:22:12","slug":"finn-russells-not-a-maverick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/191422\/","title":{"rendered":"Finn Russell’s not a ‘maverick’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Which Finn Russell<\/a> was most compelling on Bath\u2019s golden day at Twickenham? The Russell who nailed his goals as the sunshine and the spotlight burned down upon him? Surely the Russell who read Handre Pollard\u2019s pass like a clairvoyant and ran half the length of the pitch? How about the Russell who, with the line in his crosshairs, ripped the ball inside to Max Ojomoh<\/a> instead of scoring himself? Maybe the Russell who gave his boots to an ecstatic kid in the crowd afterwards. Or the Russell who led the chorus of \u2018ramenez la coupe a la maison\u2019, the French FIFA World Cup victory song, jiving around a car park jammed with blue, black and white.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d known one of the Prem final fly-halves would throw an interception pass to the other, most people would have bet the farm on Russell lobbing a speculator into the Tiger\u2019s bread basket. This was Pollard, the machine-like Springbok whose steady hand and unerring boot has steered South Africa<\/a> to successive World Cups. This was Russell, the impish rascal who plays with fire and gets his fingers singed.<\/p>\n

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An early Father\u2019s Day present for Finn Russell \ud83c\udf81#GallagherPremFinal<\/a> @BathRugby<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/bZrg1jTgOO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) June 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nobody at Bath<\/a> thinks of Russell in this way. His legend \u2013 and the cynicism which follows him \u2013 have been forged through feats of derring-do. But Johann van Graan sees well beyond the surface perceptions. That\u2019s why, two years ago, seeking his \u2018franchise quarterback\u2019, he took Bruce Craig\u2019s fat cheque and slid it across the table to Russell. Together with Lee Blackett, Russell\u2019s key role was to add gears to a Bath team whose remit had been defensive solidity and a meaty set-piece.<\/p>\n

At first glance, they seemed an incongruous pair, the scrupulous Afrikaner and the free-spirited Scot. Van Graan\u2019s slogan is \u2018stick to process\u2019. Russell doesn\u2019t have a catchphrase but if he did, a sarcastic \u2018never in doubt\u2019 might be the one. Indeed, in his younger days, there were few Test fly-halves more likely to smash \u2018process\u2019 into a million pieces.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t how Russell operates now. Nor how he\u2019s been behaving for much of the past seven years. He may never rid himself of the lazy brand \u2018maverick\u2019; the idea he\u2019s flaky and rash and not to be trusted when placed in the thumbscrews of finals rugby; a portrayal which grossly denigrates his tactical acumen and game intelligence. A frugal trophy haul not remotely reflective of his talent suggests a player with all the ability but seldom the temperament when it really matters. He won a Pro12 with Gregor Townsend\u2019s Glaswegian swashbucklers a decade ago and until this season, nothing since. No honours in five years as Racing 92\u2019s go-to man with a dominant pack and absurd weaponry around him. Duck egg again on his debut campaign in England.<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s a kid from Bath that grew up watching his dad [Steve] lifting this trophy. Giving him a little bit of limelight in the final was nice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Russell had a fine showing against a Leicester<\/a> team intent on whacking him. He kicked magnificently at the ground where he\u2019d slid a potentially match-settling goal wide just three months earlier, as Scotland<\/a> relinquished their grip on the Calcutta Cup. He steered Bath around the paddock with typical assuredness. He got flattened by Olly Cracknell<\/a> and went back in for more. Russell\u2019s tackling is another overlooked strength in his armoury.<\/p>\n

When he got his chances to dazzle, the stardust was given a liberal sprinkling. Rapid distribution left and right, then bang: a dummy, a jink, and a sumptuous offload which Joe Cokanasiga<\/a> fumbled on the hoof. Had he held it, Big Joe would have taken some stopping. There was the vision to seize Pollard\u2019s pass and the generosity to give Ojomoh his moment. \u201cHe\u2019s a kid from Bath that grew up watching his dad [Steve] lifting this trophy,\u201d Russell told the BBC post-match. \u201cGiving him a little bit of limelight in the final was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

That moment encapsulated Russell. The boldness to throw a pass nobody else would have considered, never mind tossed. The hearts in mouths all around the West Country as he threw it. And the leadership we seldom appreciate. Behind the flair and the humour, there\u2019s a serious talisman. Russell went out of his way to help a young Marcus Smith<\/a> when there was no real incentive to do so. He still spends hours with Bath\u2019s rookie pivots spooling through footage and offering his wisdom. Talk to Ojomoh \u2013 talk to any of the emerging crop at Farleigh House or at Murrayfield or in Paris \u2013 and they\u2019ll wax about his influence.<\/p>\n

\"\"Russell has helped Marcus Smith as the young England<\/a> playmaker made his way at Harlequins (Photo by Dan Mullan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

When he signed for Racing in 2018, he quickly learned French and made himself a figurehead. He drove the standards and the culture. He\u2019d scrutinise clip after clip with attack coach Mike Prendergast and devise plays to expose opposition frailties. The blockbuster moments on a highlight reel look spontaneous, but so many of them were plotted and calculated with intense rigour. Some pundits ranked him the best foreign player in France. Prendergast went further, calling him the form 10 in the whole sport during 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for me is, he\u2019s a player that can do stuff maybe no other 10 in the world can do, and most of the time it comes off, but when it doesn\u2019t, he forgets about it,\u201d Prendergast said. \u201cHe just puts it behind him, and it\u2019s all about the next job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Graan loves this mindset too. He talks about one of Russell\u2019s first matches down at the StoneX. The game was under two minutes old when Russell went for a chip, Andy Onyeama-Christie got his paws up to block, guzzled the loose ball and scored. Two minutes later, Russell was unleashing an outrageous cat-flap pass to put Tom de Glanville in at the corner.<\/p>\n

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Up until this season, Russell\u2019s CV had two glaring voids: more medals and a proper run in a Lions<\/a> series.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For every Prendergast and every Van Graan, there are a dozen sceptics. Remember those Johnny Sexton<\/a> quotes about \u201cflashy\u201d 10s that did the rounds when Sexton was hired by the Lions? The Irishman\u2019s typically unvarnished opinion would have drawn plenty agreement across the game. We\u2019re told Sexton and Russell have gone for coffee and laughed off the whole business. If you\u2019ll excuse the pun, the furore is a bit of a storm in a teacup. Sexton will harbour no prejudice. The Lions are not Ireland<\/a> v Scotland, or Sexton v Russell. They\u2019re much bigger than all that.<\/p>\n

Prendergast and Van Graan got the best out of Russell by creating a tactical framework while allowing him freedom. He\u2019s delivered his best stuff with a commanding scrum-half at his side; Greig Laidlaw<\/a> in Scotland, Maxime Machenaud<\/a> in France, and now, the outstanding, ambidextrous Ben Spencer<\/a> at Bath. Russell used to get frustrated when he\u2019d have a run-of-the-mill game. If he didn\u2019t do something magic, he\u2019d feel unfulfilled, even if his team won and he\u2019d played well. That streak, the compulsion to entertain, has long been tempered. Some of Russell\u2019s most impressive recent outings have been exhibitions in understated class.<\/p>\n

The thought of Russell in an Andy Farrell attack shape with the premier players from these islands around him, and Jamison Gibson-Park<\/a> conducting and creating at the base? That\u2019s an intoxicating prospect.<\/p>\n

Up until this season, Russell\u2019s CV had two glaring voids: more medals and a proper run in a Lions series. Four years ago, in the rugby equivalent of a demolition derby, he injured an Achilles and only contributed in the third Test, off the bench. He immediately brought some pep to the bludgeon-heavy drudgery.<\/p>\n

\"RussellRussell featured off the bench in the third Lions Test against South Africa in the covid-affected tour of 2021 (Photo by Ashley Vlotman\/Sportsfile via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Russell will always, unashamedly, be himself and partly because of that, always polarise opinion. He brushes off errors with a shrug and a smile. He has spoken about gobbling Xtreme Chewit sweeties while lining up place kicks. He famously likened himself to Lionel Messi in the Netflix \u2018Full Contact\u2019 show with tongue firmly in cheek. Later in the programme, Finn tells us he\u2019s \u201cnot the best trainer\u201d and we cut to shots of him, hands in pockets, languidly swinging his legs over some hurdles. That\u2019s anathema to men like Sexton.<\/p>\n

Russell is different to many of those who don rugby\u2019s most pressured jersey. He\u2019s a risk-taker, yes, but not some carefree hold \u2018em player who gets his kicks from pushing every chip into the middle of the table. He needs structure but not a straitjacket. Trample his instincts and you lose his essence.<\/p>\n

Russell embodies everything that\u2019s great about our sport. The gunslinger and the reveller, the schemer and the slayer; the Test-match animal and the relaxed everyman who doesn\u2019t take himself too seriously. Which Finn Russell did you enjoy most on the weekend? Why not appreciate them all.<\/p>\n