Finn Russell has revealed that he has become something of a mentor for Marcus Smith as the lavishly talented fly halves prepare to go head-to-head in the opening match of the Six Nations.
Russell and Smith, both wonderfully instinctive pivots who are willing to take risks, forged a strong friendship on last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour and have stayed in regular contact.
The 22-year-old Harlequins man is apparently even planning a festive trip to Paris, where Russell plays his club rugby with Racing 92. Their next confirmed meet-up is at Murrayfield on February 5, when Scotland will look to defend the Calcutta Cup they claimed in February with a first Twickenham win in 38 years.
“I’m good mates with Marcus and chat to him every couple of days,” Russell told The Times after pulling the strings in devastating fashion as Racing thumped Northampton 45-14 on Friday’s opening night of the Heineken Champions Cup. “He was texting me before the game to say good luck. I get on really well with him and he’s talking about coming over to France for new year, which I really hope he does because he’s a great guy I have a lot of time for.
“He’s a young player obviously, but really keen to learn. He expresses himself in how he plays, which for me is great to see. A lot of people might compare him to me, but he’s his own player, he’s doing his own stuff, and I’m more than happy to chat to him, be a friend, mentor, whatever he sees it as.
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“Myself, I see it more as a friendship where we can just bounce things off each other. I might ask him a question: ‘What do you think about this? How would you approach that?’ Even though he’s young and not got as much experience as me, he’s a great kid and has a fantastic rugby brain on him.”
Russell was in imperious form against the Saints, not least when he ran from behind his own 10-metre line then teed up Wenceslas Lauret for the second try of the flanker’s hat-trick with a glorious offload. The 29-year-old relished his display just as keenly as the pockets of the Paris club’s supporters scattered around Franklin’s Gardens, not least because he and the team have been struggling to find top gear of late.
Russell admits it has taken him time to get the summer tour out of his system. “Has there been a post-Lions hangover for me? A bit of that, I think. I don’t think this season I’ve really been firing yet. I had a few weeks off but then I was straight back into playing [for Racing]. There wasn’t that long to switch off mentally before I was straight back in. I’m looking forward to getting a week off over Christmas or new year, but now it’s about trying to keep this level of performance going — and the team will as well.”
Everything about Racing — squad, stadium, vibe — screams top tier, but the club feel the lack of a European title deeply. They have lost three finals — to Saracens in 2016, Leinster in 2018 and Exeter in 2020, and as the head coach Laurent Travers has stated: “The whole club — the directors, our partners, the president, the coaching staff, the players — has only one ambition.”
Russell reckons the key to unlocking that success may lie as much in the team’s mental approach as in their brilliant back line or powerful pack. “When you get to finals footy, it’s always different. In the performance on Friday, we were ruthless and even at the end when we were quite far ahead, we didn’t let them get any more tries.
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“If we get to the latter stages again and keep that strong mentality, that strong mindset, we’ll see how it goes. It was a great win for us, getting a bonus point and the team clicking like that after a few disappointing results. It puts a bit of pressure on us to keep that same level of play up.”
Scotland will also feel that they can now genuinely target success. Gregor Townsend’s team have won three matches in each of the past two Six Nations championships, but ill-timed slip-ups have ensured they were never really in the frame to challenge for the title.
“Last year we won three out of five, probably should have won against Wales and then Ireland was only by a few points [27-24]. We only narrowly lost those so if we can start turning these losses into wins, who knows what will happen,” Russell said. “But Ireland are playing outstandingly well, so are England and France, and Wales. They are all such strong teams.
“England is one I’m really looking forward to. They are an exciting team just now. They’ve got Marcus [Smith] in there at ten, they beat South Africa in their last game and they’re playing well. But so are a lot of teams. We’ll look back on the November Tests and how we can grow and adapt”
