Russell is relishing the task of unlocking Wallabies
AS welcome as t hey al l were at the time, Scotland would gladly swap one of the less important 14 tries scored in Pool B for a touchdown against the miserly Australians on Sunday. If only it were so simple.
Breaching that impressive, aggressive, concussive green-and-gold line is going to be anything but straightforward, as anyone who watched their heroic 13-man stand against the swarming Welsh will understand.
Even for a side who fancy the mselves as a great gathering of strike runners just waiting for an unintended invitation to cut loose, the prospect of facing this defence — already inspiring favourable comparisons with the famous World Cup- winning ‘ Iron Curtain’ unit of 1999 — is just a little daunting.
Finn Russell, the fresh-faced stand-off who makes Scotland tick, understands the scale of the challenge. He’s studied e nough footage of t he Wallabies to concede that a couple of dummy runners and a bit of expansive passing is unlikely to cause panic in their ranks.
Still, Russell has the swagger you might expect f rom a relative rookie who has risen through the ranks with such apparent ease. He seems to relish the challenge of trying to unpick a defence that, despite the Aussies being plunged into the Pool of Death alongside Wales, England and Fiji, has only conceded two tries so far.
‘As a 10, you are trying to look at their defence and pick out weaknesses,’ said the Glasgow Warriors star. ‘But that’s pretty tough to do with Australia.
‘They’ve got a really tough defence. You saw how Wales failed to score against them, so it’s not easy to pick a way through that. It’s hard to find a weakness because there are not many.
‘But games are all different. There are other situations that arise, so it’s about being able to adapt and make the right decisions. Hopefully, I can do that.
‘We spoke briefly this week about how Australia kept Wales out with 13 men, how well they defended and how Wales couldn’t score despite having so much pressure.
‘For us, we need to stick to our game plan. If we get things right, we should get points.
‘We’ve scored a good few tries already in this tournament, which is amazing. We had great second- half performances against Japan and the USA, then against Samoa it was a they score, we score sort of thing.
‘Being able to score so many points in this World Cup has been brilliant for our belief. Hopefully, that continues this weekend.
‘Australia have got great players all over the park, not just at 10, 12 and 13. But, if you look at our players, we’ve got guys who can spark something from nothing — Stuart Hogg at full-back, Mark Bennett at 13.
‘There is a lot of belief. We’ve won three out of four games and reached the quarter-finals, which is brilliant.
‘ We know how strong Australia are. We know they’ve had a great World Cup. So we are cautious of that. But we have been building some momentum.’
Russell adds an unexpected element to Scotland’s game, an ability to see a pass that others don’t — and the skills to exploit even half an opening. A defender one step away from where he should be, a would- be t ackler even leaning the wrong way… those are like open invitations to the 23-year-old with just 14 caps.
And, if his inexperience ever becomes an issue, he need l ook no f urther than one position along the line, where captain and scrum-half Greig Laidlaw — a man whose leadership skills have come to the fore in this World Cup — is always ready with a word.
‘It’s brilliant for me to play outside of Greig,’ said Russell. ‘I think we’ve had 14 games together now and we understand each other pretty well. We’re t ogether at training the whole time.
‘With a younger back line, it’s great to have him there as a more experienced player to guide us. If we have any questions, we almost go to him first as captain.
‘He’s got the answers we don’t have yet. So it’s great for me, in particular, to have him there right beside me.
‘We like throwing the ball about, having a go. I’m loving it just now. It’s good fun.
‘ This will be the biggest match of my career, so far, if I’m selected. For Scotland as a whole it’s massive, as well.
‘After a disappointing Six Nations, we’ve built and worked really hard to reach this point. It’s time to go out and do a good job.’
Russell blurts out ‘I guess so’ when it’s suggested that a World Cup quarter-final with the entire nation watching is just made for his style and temperament. But there is at least a kernel of truth in there.
Definitely missed when an ankle injury ruled him out of the pool game against the Springboks, the guy who played so well under so much pressure during Glasgow’s Pro 12 title triumph l ast season, he i s the fulcrum around which Scotland’s attack will operate.
And, on Sunday, he’ll be charged with finding a way through a defence that looked utterly impregnable last time out. No pressure, then.