Divine display from Russell as he adds to falir maturity

THERE will come a point over the next year or so, probably in a tight game in the World Cup, when Scotland will require some divine intervention. They may not have God on their side, but they do have the hands of Finn Russell.

On his first outing on Scottish soil since leaving Glasgow for Paris in the summer, Russell gave a masterful performance in the eight-try demolition of Fiji.

It wasn’t quite as flashy or flamboyant as what we have perhaps come to expect from the Scotland fly-half. But, in a way, that’s what made it so impressive.

It was a display of maturity, composure and authority, free from the type of harum-scarum errors that have, on occasion, made him such a frustrating player in the past.

The moments of flair and supreme skill were still there, of course, and Russell demonstrated that he remains the man who holds the keys to all of the supercars and flying machines in Scotland’s garage of backs.

There was the sublime floated pass that created the first of Tommy

Seymour’s three tries, as Scotland finally navigated their way past some dark arts which saw the Fijians have two players yellow-carded for collapsing a series of mauls and scrums.

The importance of that score should not be underestimated. Arriving just on the stroke of half-time to sneak the Scots 21-17 ahead, it paved the way for a blitz which saw Gregor Townsend’s men rout their opponents 33-0 in the second half.

Russell was key in that, carving the Fijian defence open once again in the build-up to Seymour’s hat-trick try.

There was also the delicious one-two he played with Adam Hastings, perhaps giving fans a glimpse of the future, as the young pretender to Russell’s crown completed the afternoon’s scoring in the final minute.

But this was different. This was Russell all grown up and looking every inch the world-class passmaster who has been lighting it up for Racing 92 in France.

‘He is a world-class player, isn’t he?’ said Sam Skinner, the Exeter Chiefs second row who enjoyed a fine Scotland debut.

‘It is awesome to see how Finn goes about his business. He is a very funny guy, very relaxed. It is great to have players like him.

‘He is probably going to have an early night. The anxiety probably crippled him. He is worse than me when it comes to nerves. He doesn’t say a word to people before games, but he can relax now.’

Back in the autumn of 2009, in what was Andy Robinson’s first match in charge of the national team, a crowd of just 22,000 watched as Scotland beat Fiji 23-10.

A far cry from the scenes yesterday, where a sell-out crowd packed into Murrayfield. The SFA could learn a thing or two from their oval ball counterparts.

Kids got in for £1 yesterday if their ticket was purchased along with an adult’s. Encourage a family day out? It’ll never catch on.

The SFA will no doubt have a rash of empty seats on their hands once again at Hampden a week on Tuesday for the Nations League tie with Israel, unwilling to lower prices and unable to see the value in clever marketing ploys.

The crowd were brought to their feet after five minutes. You didn’t need to be told who was on the ball, Stuart Hogg’s first run at the Fijians electrifying the stadium on his return from injury.

Hogg would be outshone on this occasion, though, by his Glasgow team-mate Seymour, who sneaked one ahead of his mate in Scotland’s all-time try-scoring list in an intriguing tussle between the two. The brains behind this victory, though, was Russell (left). Even when the Fijians tried to rampage down his channel and smash him when their fitness and discipline wavered in the second half, he did not flinch. As the match wore on and the tries rained in, Scotland’s 27-22 defeat to Fiji in Suva last year seemed like it belonged in a different lifetime.

Russell did not play in the game. But he played yesterday, all right. Older, wiser, smarter, this was the sort of polished performance that we thought he might somehow be incapable of. The task now is for him to replicate it next week against South Africa, the team who possess the biggest pack of forwards in world rugby. No pressure, Finn.

Finn holds the keys to all of the supercars in Scotland’s garage of backs