In the torrential rain at the North Sydney Oval on Thursday night, Finn Russell was desperately scrambling to recover the hat he had left in the back of an Uber. He had travelled across town by himself to watch his brother, Archie, playing in a Lions Legends match.
With no headwear, Russell stood on the sidelines with his hood up. An effort to keep a low profile and avoid being mobbed by the 8,000-strong crowd of rugby diehards. He joined his family in the cold as his younger sibling – shorter in stature with bleached blonde hair – ran out alongside the likes of Leigh Halfpenny and Shane Williams.
Archie has not played for the Lions but qualified for the team through association. The Russell name carries a lot of weight, you see. He has played rugby for Monaco and Cambridge University, where he won a blue in the Varsity match, but he makes his living in commodities.
There was one problem: he flew out to Australia with no boots. Finn is two sizes bigger so he ended up borrowing a pair from Marcus Smith. ‘They’re a bit snug!’ he remarked.
In the first half, lurking in the midfield, Archie scooped up a loose pass and sprinted 60 metres to score. The likes of Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper, both playing for the Australian legends, watched with their heads in their hands.
‘That was alright, wasn’t it?’ said Archie, strutting off the pitch with that familiar family swagger. ‘What was it? 80 metres? 90 metres? Easy work.’ Spotting his brother, he added: ‘At least one of us has scored a try in Australia!’
Finn Russell has surely cemented his place as the world’s best fly-half after his Lions side’s crushing series victory in Australia
Finn and family cheered on Archie Russell as he played in a Lions Legends match at the North Sydney Oval on Thursday
Smirking, Finn replied: ‘I’ve still got a game in hand – we’ll see about that this weekend!’
The Lions No 10 may not have scored a try on Australian soil but he has achieved everything else on this tour. He has won his last 15 matches – dating back to the Six Nations – and won over his critics in the process.
Flaky Finn? Make that Reliable Russell. Here we have seen the Scotsman at his very best. Tackles, territorial kicking, short passes, long passes. He has wowed the crowds with his sleight of hand, surely departing Australian shores as the best No 10 in the world right now. Even his brother would give him that one.
On Friday, I sat down for lunch in Sydney with the former Manchester United goalkeeper Marc Bosnich, a man who knows all about the spotlight, the pressures of international sport. Rugby was one of Bosnich’s first loves and, like every other fan out here, he swooned over the Lions playmaker.
‘The Lions are a very good team and Finn Russell is your fulcrum, your Andrea Pirlo,’ said Bosnich, over a bowl of fritto misto. ‘In Italy, they would call him the trequartista. Pirlo was the guy you go to when you’re in trouble. When you’re in trouble, you go to Finn Russell. He knows when they’re ready to go down the blindside, he knows when to put in a little kick. He controls the tempo of the game.’
Russell has refined his game over the years. He has shaken off the maverick tag, although there is still a nonchalant mystique around him. He plays freely and speaks freely.
This week, I looked through the archives of some of Mail Sport’s old features with Russell, now 32. The first time we met, in 2018, he drove a mini motorbike around his living room in Glasgow with his team-mate, Ali Price, telling mischievous stories about their holidays in Ibiza.
‘I’d just come back from a fractured skull,’ he said. ‘Ali was supposed to be looking after me… he let me penguin-dive into the pool on the first day and smack my head on the bottom! What did you do? Go to the barman and ask for some ice to tape to my forehead!’
Russell has matured a lot since the time he and his former Glasgow team-mate Ali Price had an eventful holiday in Ibiza
Proud father-of-two Russell won the Premiership with Bath last season
Russell has become the Lions’ answer to the legendary Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo, according to former Manchester United keeper – and rugby fanatic – Marc Bosnich
We have met numerous times around the world since then, watching him grow into a father of two, settling down in Bath and winning the Premiership back in June. On the touchlines at North Sydney Oval, his parents were glowing with pride. I spoke to his father, Keith, who taught him to juggle fire as a teenager. And his mother, Sally, explained how they have been helping out with childcare while travelling around Australia.
After the match, Archie and his team-mates cracked open the beers in the changing room, but it was an early night for Finn. ‘He’s maturing every time,’ said Scotland and Lions coach John Dalziel, speaking at the Lions’ final media session yesterday afternoon.
‘A lot of players like him get criticism for not being able to play different styles. Here we are pulling four nations together and he has come in and delivered a gameplan. And he’s also been himself.
‘That’s why he was picked and that’s why he is world class. It’s not just the moments when he is driving the team around the park but the moments he has on his own. His ability to see space and put others into space is outstanding.’
At the Accor Stadium on Saturday, he is hoping to sign out from the series with one final flourish on closing night. Orchestrating the Lions to a 3-0 win would be an achievement like no other – something he is unlikely to eclipse for club or country – and would etch the family name deeper into Lions legend.
