Russell produces the Hollywood moments but he’s not a star yet
YES, he’s a great entertainer, capable of those magical moments that can change a game in an instant. But when is Finn Russell going to start impressing on a regular basis?
‘Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.’ The famous line from
Forrest Gump could have been applied to Russell’s performances in the Six Nations.
He’s always billed as one of Scotland’s top players. But so key is his position of fly-half that, until Russell learns to consistently string some decent performances together, Gregor Townsend’s side will struggle to make an impact in the Championship, let alone at the 2019 World Cup.
He went from flaky to fabulous, world-class to woeful, at various stages over the five games.
In the opening defeat to Wales, like the rest of the team, he was dreadful. He wasn’t much better in the win over France, either, despite helping to set up Sean Maitland’s try. So ineffectual, in fact, he was taken off after 65 minutes. And it was only when Greig Laidlaw moved to ten in his place that Scotland really hit their straps.
Russell’s clearance kicks were so poor the responsibility was handed to Stuart Hogg for the rest of the tournament.
Perhaps that helped free him up for a magnificent display in the triumph over England, when he made one of the greatest passes ever seen at Murrayfield. The crowd held their breath as the ball rose above the outstretched fingers of Jonathan Joseph into the arms of Huw Jones in a spectacular move which ended with Maitland scoring in the corner. And that wasn’t all. Russell’s grubber-kick set-up Jones for the first of his two tries. In short, it was a superb individual showing. Then came Dublin, and the ideal opportunity to show he was on a par with Johnny Sexton, easily the best stand-off in the tournament. Therein lies the problem. When the chips were down, Russell was solid enough but not spectacular in a defeat which showed we weren’t ready to challenge for the title. In Rome, he went off with a head knock when Scotland were 24-12 down. Maybe it was just coincidence, but, when Laidlaw moved from nine to ten, Scotland improved again on their way to victory. Russell (below) is a match-winner, but he can’t be in the mood one week and out of touch the next. The fervent hope is that his move from Glasgow Warriors to Racing 92 will be the making of him, and see him return to international duty a more complete player. He also needs more competition at ten. Something to make him raise his game. Hopefully that’s where Adam Hastings comes in. Townsend should give Russell a rest this summer and take the uncapped Warriors fly-half on the tour of the USA and Canada with a view to being Russell’s understudy at the World Cup. Having a credible rival in his position may focus his mind on producing the goods more regularly.