Risky pass? No way. It was Russell at his best
IT WAS a moment when Murrayfield held its breath. Finn Russell plays an outrageously long, looping pass over the head of England’s Jonathan Joseph.
It was a risky move that only the most confident of men would have even attempted.
Getting it even slightly wrong and the ball would have been gratefully picked off by the centre and he would have scored a breakaway try.
Instead it arched over him and Huw Jones gathered the inch perfect pass and set off up the wing. The Scotland fans in the stadium and watching at home breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The coolest man throughout it all was Russell.
When asked whether there was a risk his pass may be intercepted, the fly-half said: ‘Nah. I don’t know if their players like Jonathan Joseph were expecting me to do that.
‘Maybe if he had jumped he might have picked it off but he didn’t. Huw saw the pass coming partly because we know each other’s game so much
and he ran into space which had been created. It was one of those things. A lot of folk might look thinking it is risky and maybe there is a bit of that, but I back myself and the boys around me to be able to throw that ball around and catch those kind of passes.
‘It’s the belief we have as a team and as individuals. Today, the team was world class.’
That successful move was a pivotal moment in the match. It showed that Russell, who had been lambasted for his poor performance against France, was up for this one.
He was sharp as a tack, full of confidence and had an eye for the break. He was totally different from the player who could do nothing right against the French.
With Greig Laidlaw at scrum-half by his side to stop him doing anything too silly, Russell had one of his best games in a Scotland jersey.
He knew he would be targeted by the English players but didn’t let that bother him. To be fair, he was so elusive that the opposition could hardly get near him anyway.
Russell’s unpredictability led them a merry dance much to the delight of the ecstatic home crowd.
It was his first-half performance in particular that laid the foundations for the Scotland win. He was on fire trying things others would not even contemplate.
As well as Russell’s magical looping pass, it was his grubber kick that set up Jones for one of his tries. He also played the pass to put Sean Maitland in at the corner.
With 15 minutes left and with Sam Underhill in the sin-bin, the Glasgow Warrior then took over the kicking duties from Laidlaw, who had been replaced. His first and only penalty sailed through the posts.
As the game reached its climax, Russell played with the discipline needed to help his side to a famous victory.
At the final whistle, nobody had a bigger smile on his face than him. He had proved his doubters wrong and showed that form is temporary, class is permanent.
‘That was a huge result for us and I have never had a feeling like that,’ said the Scotland fly-half. ‘It was amazing to beat England. Not just beat them, but beat them through the way we played.
‘We played so well and executed our game plan well. There were still things to work on but it was a pretty good performance.’
When asked if the criticism he got after the France game had fired him up, Russell replied: ‘No. That’s just sport. You get the highs and the lows. We won against France and some people said I wasn’t so good. Against Wales, the whole team got a slating.
‘We bounced back against the French and again today. That is the job we are in. You have to accept the highs and the lows, so we will enjoy the high tonight.
‘You will have to ask other players and coaches how good I am. I am not going to rate myself but to be a world-class No10, you need the boys around you to help you out.
‘That makes it easier for me, running those balls out from the back and have boys running for me. I couldn’t have played like I did today without them.’
Scotland captain John Barclay singled out Russell for special praise because he had been under so much pressure going into the match.
‘I always said Finn would get man of the match,’ said a smiling Barclay. ‘All joking aside, I did say he was one of those characters who will thrive on people saying he has not been at his best.
‘He played on the edge out there, threw the ball flat and his kicking game was brilliant.’
What made the win even sweeter for Barclay was it exorcised some of the demons from their 61-21 defeat at Twickenham last year.
He said: ‘That embarrassment from last year fuelled me a bit. I am sure some of the others guys used it. We knew we had to learn lessons from what happened then.’
Huw saw the ball coming because we know each other’s game