The Rugby world calls him a “magician” but in the Scotland team his nickname is “muscle” - particularly because of his lack of it. Either way, Scotland’s talisman Finn Russell is a massive threat to the Springboks as they head into their Rugby World Cup opener in Marseilles on Sunday.
In the weirdest of British and Irish Lions tours in 2021, you could almost feel the exasperation from the touring press corps. While contact was limited and press interactions were virtual, the same questions kept popping up again and again - why wasn’t Warren Gatland employing their most potent attackiing weapon?
Gatland had preferred Dan Biggar, his Welsh 10 for the tests, but when Russell finally made an appearance in the final test match off the bench when Biggar was injured, it was clear to see why such a fuss was made.
Within seconds he made the defence stop and stare. A mesmerising sleight of hand that was totally different than the Lions had employed all tour. To the travelling media, it underlined their belief that he was not just good, but the elixir the team was looking for.
MASTER OF TIME AND SPACE
Russell has an uncanny ability to get a backline going, a master of time and space and is one of those gifted individuals who makes a moment look longer than it should be, and effort an ease with a hulking 120kg forward storming down on him.
He isn’t infallible, but he has had more moments of magic than most and is a massive reason why the Boks are wary of his skills.
As Duane Vermeulen put it this week, it is one player the Boks will give extra attention to.
“Oh jeez, he is a magician with ball in hand,” Vermeulen said in Toulon this week, the ultimate compliment for an opposition player. “On the front foot, he’s really good and he’s got a massive playbook in his head and is just a fantastic individual player.
“We really have to sit down and have our video sessions and have a look at what he does on the field and how often he does these things.”
What Vermeulen has pinpointed though, is the need for front foot ball. The Boks will be intent on cutting off his oxygen, and dominating the setpiece and forward play to stop precisely that. And that’s where the exciting game of cat and mouse will be played.
The last time Scotland played South Africa it was Pieter-Steph du Toit who hounded Russell and stopped his time on the ball. It was a ploy that worked and it is likely to be employed again on Sunday.
SETPIECE PRESSURE
Vermeulen eluded to that when he spoke about the pressure the Boks wanted to put on in the setpiece.
“We pride ourselves on our setpiece,” said Vermeulen. “And, for us, if we get our lineouts and get moving forward, and at scrum-time as well, if we can do it with ball in hand on your side and then when you’re defending if you can put on a bit of pressure…
“Guys can become frustrated if they don’t get the ball on their terms, and then you have to make changes and find solutions. It’s the same on our side. We’d have to find solutions if they get front foot ball. It’s going to be an interesting game.”
Russell though, has found ways before and Scotland will need him to find them again.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The Stirling born Russell was raised in the interestingly named Bridge of Allan and first made his name in the under-20 Junior World Championship in Stellenbosch, the tournament won by the Junior Boks that year.
His skills were enhanced when he won a rugby scholarship and spent time in Christchurch to hone his skills. Coming from a rugby family - his father Keith was Director of Domestic Rugby at the Scottish Rugby Union - and a host of sporting stars, Russell was always destined to succeed. His grandparents were international badminton players, while his uncle and great-grandfather played cricket for Scotland. And the entire family are expert jugglers, which kinda makes sense.
He trained to be a stone mason and worked there for three years.
Speaking of this period with The Scottish Sun, Russell said: “On rainy days it could be pretty miserable… It could be tough but I enjoyed it.
“I’d be making windowsills, door frames, fire places – even building walls. But compared to playing rugby, it’s night and day. If I ever have a bad day at training, I think back to what it was like working in that cold shed.”
BRUSHES WITH AUTHORITY
He isn’t without spirit, and his brushes with coach Gregor Townsend have left him criticising his coach, being left out of the Scotland squad before finding some common ground between the two.
"I've changed. I've had a baby now so that's a bit different," Russell said as to how the two learnt to get along.
"Between me and Gregor there's been a few changes for both of us.
"But we're in a really good situation going into this World Cup which is great," he added.
That confidence, Russell hopes, will be infectious for his teammates as they look to down the Springboks on Sunday.
So while the Springboks are wary of him, and would have done their homework on him, the question is what makes him so good?
For that we turn to Johann van Graan, the former Springbok assistant, Munster and current Bath head coach, who signed Russell in a coup for Bath, where Russell will move after the World Cup.
‘ONE OF THE BEST 10S IN WORLD RUGBY’
Van Graan has studied and watched Russell for years and knows him well, which is why he didn’t hesitate to grab his signature when the opportunity came.
So it was an easy question for him to answer.
“He is one of the best 10s in World Rugby. He has such a good all-round game,” Van Graan told Supersport.
“He is exceptionally good at his basics. His pass left-to-right and right-to-left is incredible - it must be close to the best in the world. You just have to look at his highlights package to look at the length of his pass, the accuracy and speed of his pass.
“The fact that he plays so close to the gainline means he stays on top of the defence and he creates space for other players. One of his biggest threats - if players move off him - is that he has a wide variety of skills to cut the line.
“Two things that he doesn’t get so much credit for - his kicking game in his own half is incredibly solid and gets his own team out of his half. And then his defence is tough - he makes his tackles. Teams try and intimidate him and a lot of teams have gone after him but he always bounces back.
“His personality - he plays the game with a smile and he has big moments around him. For any team that has to prepare against him, you’ve got to prepare well. It is the individual threat and the way he opens space around him.”
With that in mind the Boks have been warned. They missed the magician in the Lions tour, but on the world stage they can’t afford to give him space and time.
With margins likely to be small, Russell is a game breaker that can change a game in a second.
The Boks will need to close him down fast.
Or it will be a heartbreaking magic in their first World Cup outing.
