Fitter, healthier, happier. At 30 Finn Russell may still be too young to deserve being described as “rejuvenated”, but there is little doubt that, as he prepares to take part in his third Rugby World Cup, the Scotland star is in his best shape for some time.
Less than a year ago, Gregor Townsend omitted Russell from his squad for the Autumn Tests, saying that on form he was the fourth-best stand-off in the country. While that claim never stood up to serious scrutiny, there was little doubt that the then Racing 92 playmaker had been performing some way below his own high standards.
Now, however, Russell has not only got back to the form he was in previously, but has arguably become better still. He has always had that spark of genius about him since his early days as a Glasgow Warriors player, but it is now tempered by the wisdom that only comes from accumulated experience.
And although he was an undeniably important player for Scotland at the previous two World Cups, this time round he is clearly a more pivotal leadership figure. That is partly because the retiral of Stuart Hogg has focused even more attention on Russell as the orchestrator of the offence, but it is also because of the fly-half’s individual excellence.
So what has brought about this renaissance? On Wednesday, after being named in Townsend’s final squad of 33 for the World Cup in France, Russell himself insisted that the key was nothing more complex than a little rest and recuperation - something of which he had had far too little in the 2021 close season following the British & Irish Lions’ tour to South Africa.
“That year after the Lions tour was tough,” he said. “We’d had a long season, with the Lions on top of it, then I had three and a half weeks off before I was back playing again. That was tough, and I think it had a knock-on effect for that whole season and I never really managed to get back into it.
“It’s more the mental side that tires me. Physically, I wasn’t in my best shape in 2021-22 but I think that was more a reflection of where I was. I wasn’t down, I was just tired.
“Last summer I got five weeks off, so it was nice to chill out and get some time away from it. And this season I had four weeks, which was nice.
“If I’m mentally fresh and ready I’ll have a better game. As a 10 you’ve got to think your way through it and plan your way through the game - but if you’re physically not there you can’t be quite where you want to be, and you’re slow and sluggish. It goes hand in hand, I think.
“But now I’m feeling good. I’m feeling fit, mentally I’m feeling good - so I’ve got no excuses now.”
After five years playing for Racing and living in Paris following his 2018 move from Scotstoun, Russell is officially a Bath player now. The move came at the right time as it means that he, his partner Emma and their baby daughter Charlie will be a lot closer to home, but he will always be grateful to French rugby for helping him develop as a player and as a man.
“France was brilliant. You adapt and you grow and you have different experiences. You get to understand their culture, their style of play, how the players are.
“But also just as a guy, being out of my comfort zone quite a lot of the time over in France, having to figure things out, was really good for me. And obviously we had our little girl over there, so that’s made me have to change a little bit - I think for the better. It’s been great for me being in France. More experience, more exposure.”
That experience and exposure should certainly help Scotland on the biggest stage of all, and Russell himself is confident that he is going into next month’s tournament as a wiser, more seasoned player than he was at either of his first two World Cups.
“I think it’s different this time. Last time there were a lot of older guys than me. I was 26 going into the last World Cup, turning 27, whereas this time I’ll be one of the older guys, one of the most experienced guys. It’s a different responsibility.
“In the 2015 World Cup we got out of the group and we should have beaten Australia in that quarter-final. At the last World Cup we didn't perform at our best and we didn’t get out of the group stage. Having those two experiences will hopefully help me, but also the experience I’ve got will help the boys and help the team.”
