Paul Rees looks at Finn Russell, the big-money signing who is making a name for himself in the West Country
Big-name signings have become rare in the Premiership's age of austerity, but Finn Russell is undoubtedly one. The Scotland and Lions outside-half arrived in Bath after the World Cup and wasted no time in making an impression on the league.
A feature of Russell's career is that he does not allow setbacks or mistakes to depress his desire to test defences to the maximum. He believes in himself, trusts his ability and never stops looking for a sign of weakness and an opportunity.
He was an unlikely signing for Bath given that in recent seasons they have played through their scrum-half, Ben Spencer, more than their 10, but the Scot's arrival at The Rec has not only provided them with an extra dimension but has brought even more out of Spencer, the Premiership's latest player of the month.
At a time when clubs are looking to attract new spectators with attendances falling, Russell is box office. He revelled in the hostile atmosphere at Kingsholm in the last round when Bath took on their West Country rivals who just 18 months before had won the fixture 64-0.
After he had landed a conversion from the touchline in front of the Shed, Russell ran back to the halfway line, looked at the massed ranks of home supporters and put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. And they duly went quiet as Bath overcame a 10-point half-time deficit to win 45-27, scoring their highest number of points at the ground.
Russell was not at his most flamboyant that evening, but he was influential. He did the simple things effectively, helped his forwards storm the gainline after the break and brought the best out of his two centres, Max Ojomoh and Ollie Lawrence. Scottish he may be, but he can have an influence on the England side going forward.
Russell joined from Racing 92, the club he spent five years with after joining from Glasgow. When his signing was announced last December, it was reported he would be earning £1m a year: whatever his salary, he is Bath's marquee player and so his wages sit outside the salary cap but if his first few weeks in England are a sign of what is to come, the investment in him will be amply repaid.
Bath have yet to win the Premiership and in recent seasons have bobbled around the bottom half of the table, lacking a sense of direction and focus. The arrival of Johann van Graan as head coach last summer changed that. If signs of progress had to be scoured for initially, that reflected where the club was coming from and the effort needed to make them a force.
In the past, Bath were accused of collecting players because of who they were rather than what they could add to the team or whether they would fit in. On the surface, the acquisition of Russell appeared to be a continuance of that, outbidding other clubs for a player who empties bars, but that is not how van Graan operates.
“Finn Russell was someone I absolutely really wanted,” said van Graan, below. “You look at sides that are Championship winning teams and they have a few common traits: they have all got leadership, they all have special players, they all have a tight five, they all have an exemplary defence and they all have a 10 that plays Test rugby.
“I took my time when I arrived here to learn about the players and saw some fantastic young outside-halves in Orlando Bailey, Sam Harris and George Worboys. We needed a bit more, a Test 10. I did my research on players I had come across and coached and others I had coached against.
“I did my homework and spoke with the coaching group and owner Bruce Craig, making them aware that I was going to target a certain individual. I met with Finn and we straight away made a very good connection as to how we saw the game and where I wanted to take the group.
“He is a world class player, but what is important, and I want to emphasise se this, is that he fits into what we are as a group: it is about making this team better. He is one of our players and he is fitting into our squad which we are very proud of.”
Russell's first start for Bath was at Saracens. He had an early kick charged down which led to a try for the home side, but a few minutes later he made a break and freed Tom de Glanville with a one-handed pass that set Bath on their way a 25-16 victory, their first at Sarries in the Premiership since 2010.
“You have to look at Finn's game pretty closely,” said van Graan. “People only remember big moments but see how well he exits his half. I go back the Newcastle game (when made his club debut off the bench): he had two kicks from behind his own goal line that sent 50 metres into touch.
People do not always see how brave he is in defence andd he makes a lot of people around him very calm. I am very glad to have him, but in same breath, it is all about our squad.”
Bath had another local derby Friday night, Bristol at Rec. The Bears' director rugby, Pat Lam, coached Barbarians when they played England at Twickenham in 2020. Russell was his outside-half and was in his element as the invitation side on 63-45.
“Bath have made a massive improvement under Johann and Finn has made a big difference,” said Lam. “I could see hen he was with the Barbarians that he is a special talent the way he attacks and orchestrates moves. He does things differently and I am not surprised he made an immediate impact in the Premiership.
“He is a big signing for the Premiership. When I was coaching Connacht, Finn and Stuart Hogg played for Glasgow and we did a lot of work trying to nullify the pair. I always try and watch Scotland's games when he is playing. He is world class, a 10 who looks to put runners into holes rather than brick walls.
“He was a dream to work with, the way he sees the game and wants to play it, and he has a class attack coach at Bath in Lee Blackett. Something is only high risk if a player cannot execute and does not know what they are doing. Finn does and look how the players around him are now playing better.”
Virimi Vakatawa, below, spent four years with Russell at Racing and they both started the 2020 Champions Cup final against Exeter at Ashton Gate, the place he now calls home. The France centre, who this season joined Bristol, played outside two of the outstanding outside-halves of the professional era, Dan Carter and Johnny Sexton, as well as South Africa's Pat Lambie, in Paris but his fondest recollections are of his partnership with Russell.
“I loved playing on the same side as him,” said Vakatawa before Friday night's reunion with Russell when Bristol were at The Rec. “I was lucky enough to play at Racing with the best 10s in the world and I had a huge respect for Johnny Sexton, Dan Carter and Pat Lambie.
“I just loved the way Finn and I could bring it together in a game, creating something out of nothing. He is full of tricks and you need to know him better. Once you do, you have the best moments of your life playing alongside him. It took me about a year: I would watch him in training and have chats with him.
“He told me the way he wanted me to run lines and he helped me a lot. He is a world class player and it is good for the Premiership that he is playing in England. We left Racing at the same time and now we are neighbours.”
Stuart Hogg left Glasgow for Exeter, retiring through injury at the end for last season. Now a television pundit for TNT Sports, he caught up with Russell for an interview ahead of the match against Bristol, not surprised that his former international colleague had taken to the Premiership instantly.
“It was never in doubt,” said Hogg. “He is a class act who is really making a difference in this Bath side. For years the Premiership has had box office players and now we have got Finn Russell and Virimi Vakatawa, which is absolutely massive. Bath have been coming good in the past year and become a very difficult side to play against. Finn is the missing piece of the puzzle.”
Some 30 minutes after advising the Shed to cut down on the noise, Russell was signing autographs for mostly home supporters and holding phones to take pictures. The Gloucester faithful know a top player when they see one.
“Football, the global game, has billions of fans and yet the marketing of the sport has so often boiled down to the two famous faces of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo,” wrote the former Bath and England outside-half Stuart Barnes last week.
“Finn Russell represents a face for rugby union's future supporter base. He may not convince the dyed-in-the-wool devotees with his Friday night shush, but there was nothing crass about the gesture.
“In England, the ‘character' is not to be trusted in a sport that has struggled to extricate itself from the conservatism of its history. Russell divides opinion still. How many times have I heard the phrase ‘can't be trusted' in reference to Russell? Let's get this straight: his pluses hugely outweigh the odd negative on the field.
“The Shed will not think any worse of him for his quasi-affectionate act. Nor should the rest of us. Bath and English rugby in general should celebrate the arrival of this smiling commodity blessed with that touch of genius.”
