Scotland need the real Russell to stand up
Fly-half has gone from asset to liability but he retains country’s backing, writes Richard Bath
‘The problem with Finn,” says Craig Chalmers, Scotland’s 1990 Grand Slam standoff, “is that he smiles too much. People see him laughing and joking when he’s made a mistake and they think he’s not taking it seriously. But they’re wrong. That’s a nervous thing, a sign of embarrassment when he’s messed up. This is a guy who is desperate to do well.”
North of the border, the Calcutta Cup build-up has been dominated by the subject of Finn Russell. Or, to be more exact, what to make of the past two games in which the stand-off has gone from being Scotland’s biggest weapon to their greatest liability.
The issue was brought to a head against France when Gregor Townsend substituted Russell for the last 15 minutes and moved Greig Laidlaw, a scrum-half who last started a Test at stand-off in 2013, to No10.
Townsend’s unexpected gambit seemed a tacit admission of Russell’s fallibility. The fans and pundits had a field day, but others view Russell’s premature departure differently.
“Moving Greig to fly-half was a really brave decision,” said legendary Borders stand-off John Rutherford, whose finest hour was masterminding Scotland’s record 33-6 thrashing of England in 1986. “But people have got it wrong: it wasn’t about getting Finn off, it was about getting Ali Price on at scrum-half so Scotland could play a faster game, while also keeping Greig on because his kicking was exceptional. Finn actually played quite well against France, although people focused on the missed kicks for touch. I certainly don’t buy into this idea that he’s flaky.”
Scotland captain John Barclay agrees and expects Finn to bounce back against England this evening.
“I’ve seen Finn not play as well as he could, but he typically bounces back and wins man of the match,” said Barclay. “Based on how he played in the autumn games and summer tour, Finn is one of the best stand-offs in the world. He maybe hasn’t had his best first two games but he has done some good things.
“The scrutiny is always huge on the No 1 0 and it is the nature of the beast that the negatives are pointed out more than the positives. But Finn is the sort of character who thrives on pressure. He has trained really well and is relishing this weekend. He is very relaxed but that should be not be mistaken for not taking the game seriously. He is disappointed as anyone if the team does not play well or if he does not play well.
“In fact, he is one of the guys on the laptops the most doing analysis. He’s that guy driving the team. His personality is not going to change, and it is what makes him play the way he does.”
For Chalmers and Rutherford, the 25-year-old’s form in this Natwest Six Nations is only to be expected from a youngish standoff who is being targeted because he is Scotland’s most important player.
“Finn is a far, far better player than George Ford and he has actually been remarkably consistent, although he’s always had crazy off-the-cuff moments that don’t come off,” said Chalmers. “His mistake has been trying to force the game rather than relying on the really good players around him, but the most remarkable thing is that it has taken so long for him to go through the tough patch that everyone goes through.”
Bolstering the murmurings about Russell’s form is his impending departure to Racing 92 for £750,000 a year, which has spawned endless jokes that he has already bought a Lamborghini.
“Finn sometimes needs to take better options, but the worst thing that could happen is for him to change the way he plays,” says Rutherford. “But then that won’t happen because Finn is so mentally strong and determined to prove people wrong. Hopefully he’ll start doing that against England.”