RUSSELL VULNERABLE

THERE has been a lot of ‘Mighty Finn’ eulogising in Scotland this week following the stand-out performance of fly-half Finn Russell in their 33-20 opening Six Nations win over Italy.

The 26-year-old’s 41st international outing has been widely touted as his finest and there is no denying the Racing 92 playmaker was in sparkling form.

His cross-field kick for Blair Kinghorn’s first try was sublime, his wraparound delivery created the space for the winger’s second and his grubber for Stuart Hogg’s touchdown was beautifully judged.

In addition, Russell exhibited his wide array of short and long-range passing skills throughout as well as a decent kicking game to propel his team forward in a performance that oozed confidence and class.

And now, with Johnny Sexton coming to Edinburgh for Saturday’s key match-up, there is frothy Scottish excitement at the prospect of Russell producing a career-defining display against the World Player of the Year.

The comparisons have been running through the week with much store put in the fact Russell has been an unqualified success in a flourishing Racing side, whereas Sexton struggled during his difficult two-season stint there.

Furthermore, Sexton’s problems in the loss to England, when Ireland’s attacking game stuttered, have been used as evidence that his Scottish rival is the superior offensive force.

‘Russell is a more gifted natural rugby player than Sexton, by a long way,’ trumpeted ex-Scotland outhalf John Rutherford this week. Heady stuff.

There is no doubting Russell’s ability. He is the most gifted attacking out-half Scotland have had access to since their head coach Gregor Townsend was at his peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

That said, there are certain caveats to address when assessing Russell ahead of Saturday’s Murrayfield clash — starting with last weekend.

For all the Scottish euphoria, their No 10 was operating against the notoriously flaccid Italian defence and the time he was afforded to pull the strings was in stark contrast to the ferocious defensive pressure Sexton faced against England.

Take Kinghorn’s first try, for example. With the Italian line holding back, Russell had time to check, look up and assess his options before sending his kick out wide. He was allowed similar latitude for the Hogg grubber.

It confirmed that if you allow Russell time on the ball, he can destroy you, but the Italians were not capable of testing the proven theory that if you get in the face of the Scotland 10, he is capable of crumbling.

The term ‘mercurial’ is loathed by out-halves because it suggests flakiness, but it certainly applies in Russell’s case. One thinks back to last year’s Six Nations clash with France, when he was shepherd’s crooked after an error-strewn performance to allow Greig Laidlaw steer the Scots to victory.

In that same championship, Russell achieved iconic YouTube status for his ‘wonder pass’ to Huw Jones in the thumping win over England but, if Jonathan Joseph had been positioned correctly, that 25-yard looper would likely have been intercepted for a try at the other end.

One thinks also of his failure to recognise the drop-goal option in a vital Champions Cup defeat by Munster on Glasgow’s home turf in Scotstoun in 2017. Questions surrounding Russell’s game management have not evaporated on the back of his ebullience against the Italians.

Then there is his defence — a notable strength of Sexton’s. Another ex-Scotland 10, Craig Chalmers, claims Russell does not get the credit he merits for his tackling but he has been treated as something of a turnstile in defence over the years (limp tackling contributing to his removal against France last year) and it was notable how the Italians profited from making a beeline for the Scotland 10 last weekend.

Much has been made of Russell’s background as an apprentice stonemason, and of time spent learning his rugby trade in New Zealand, in terms of toughening him up for professional rugby but, if anything, there is a mental frailty in his makeup that Ireland need to expose.

There are echoes here of Ireland’s pool game against France at the last World Cup. The French started the gifted but flaky Freddie Michalak at 10 that day and once you saw his name on the team-sheet, an Irish victory looked more certain.

That was because Schmidt’s men got in Michalak’s face to the point of implosion and the same attitude can bear dividends against Scotland on Saturday.

Russell is undoubtedly a major threat to Ireland’s designs on a restorative victory, but only if he is allowed to strut his stuff — if Schmidt’s men pursue a 10-rattling policy, one of Scotland’s strengths could become a major weakness.