The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Finn chews over novel way to learn language Scotland star reflects on recent move to French capital
Finn Russell’s determination to ingrain himself in Paris culture is laudable, but it could still use a little work.
In order to improve his fledgling French, the Scotland stand-off who joined Racing 92 this summer goes out to dinner most nights in Paris – as you would – but the results have been mixed, to say the least.
“I’d got into a phase that after a hard day’s training I’d go home and just play the Playstation, so I started to go out to eat,” he explained. “If I go to a restaurant I can practise my French, but the problems start when they start asking questions back.
“You know the first couple will be ‘inside or outside’ and ‘how many people’, but after that I am completely lost!
“I ordered liver by accident the other night. I hate liver but I had to eat it because I didn’t want to offend anyone.”
Fortunately Russell speaks a universal language on the pitch (and most of his team-mates are bilingual even if he isn’t yet) and he’s settled into life as Racing’s stand-off with considerable aplomb – the club are well placed for a play-off place in the Top 14, and have had an excellent start to the Heineken Cup with back to back wins over Scarlets and Ulster.
“The rugby stuff is not too bad because things are up on a board and you learn lots of words because you know the context,” he continued. “But I’ve had to establish myself, I still am trying to, and a lot of that is to do with language.
“I can’t always get my point across as I want because the bits of French I have are basic, so I have been working hard on doing the basics well like passing and kicking so it makes it easier for the boys to feed off me.
“I am still settling in and the guys are still getting used to me and the things I do, things that might have been more natural at Glasgow.”
Perhaps that’s been a good thing for Russell, as it may have reined in some of his more flamboyant tendencies, with no detraction from his effectiveness. Racing are behind only Greig Laidlaw’s Clermont in try and points-scoring in the Top 14 and he has been the frontline placekicker, while he had a fine all-round game for Scotland against Fiji on Saturday.
Coming back to Scotland for the Autumn Tests has further convinced him he’s made the right decision.
“It was great for me as a player because I’ve had to be the decision maker, the man who controls the game,” he said, ahead of this weekend’s match against South Africa.
“At Glasgow I was so comfortable with life, it was becoming almost repetitive. I was looking forward to the challenges and it’s actually been easy to fit in.
“It’s been great to come back and see the boys. I’ve been getting a bit of banter about how many