Guest Blogger: The rise of Finn Russell

Guest blogger and Glasgow fan 'The Pen' gives his view on the rise of Finn Russell

He can make you a door frame out of stone, he can dance (well, shuffle!) and he can pick you out on the wing with 5 minutes of a semi-final left with a lovely looping pass and then he’ll slot over the most ridiculous of conversions!

Yes, Finn Russell really can do all of the above!

Working for 3 years as a stone mason after leaving high school, rugby was never far from the Stirling lads mind and he never gave up on his dream of becoming a professional.

Russell’s rise to fame is quite astonishing really. In 2011 he was playing for Stirling County in the Scottish leagues before making the switch to Falkirk. An excellent season at Cala Park culminated in Russell being selected for the  Scottish side to play the 2012 IRB Junior World Championships in South Africa.

This drew him to the attention of Gregor Townsend, a man who’s ability to pick up a rough diamond has served Glasgow well over the years. Russell was assigned to Ayr and by the end of the 2012-13 season it’s fair to say it was a hell of a year for him. With Ayr, he won the league and cup double, he was selected for the much coveted MacPhail Scholarship, awarded to Scottish Rugby’s outstanding talents such as John Barclay and Roddy Grant, and spent 3 months in Christchurch, New Zealand where he was party to specialist coaching and he made his professional debut from the bench for the Warriors.

If 12-13 was a great season, Russell’s career blossomed and went stratospheric  in 13-14, starting his first game. Injuries that season to Duncan Weir gave Russell more and more game time and towards the end of the season, he was first choice fly-half and came tantalizingly close to lifting silverware before Leinster took the Warriors apart at the RDS.

The end of the 13-14 season saw him selected to tour with Scotland and since then, he has easily established himself as first choice fly-half and the following season he was a league winner as Glasgow defeated Munster in Belfast. While Finn played a prominent role throughout the season, it will be the 2 games against Ulster that will lodge in the memory of the Warrior Nation.

Struggling to beat the Ulstermen at half-time, Russells second half display, his first ever tries for the Warriors and an overall points total of 22 lifted his team mates to 1st in the table and a home semi-final against the same opponents. With the Warriors down 9- 14 and pressing with 5 minutes to go, Russell took a pass from Henry Pyrgos at the base of the ruck, looking to right, he spun the most glorious of passes to DTH Van Der Merwe who levelled the score in the corner. The conversion attempt, right on the touchline would have been a pressure kick under normal circumstances, but knowing this would send his side to the Final, this was pure sporting drama. Never have I seen a kick so perfectly executed. It cut cleanly through the middle and Glasgow would go on to beat Munster, with Russell getting yet another try.

Russell has had his share of low points too. A yellow against Wales in the 2015 being upgraded to a 2 week ban and sparking Twitter hysteria with the hashtag #Finnocent  and at the end of last season where he was seriously injured in a collision with team mate Zander Fagerson that left Russell with a season ending injury, missing the Scotland tour to Japan and the start of this season.

There is no doubt that when Russell is on his game, he can conjure magnificent moments of magic. A little chip on the 5m line and diving catch against Scarlets last year was a particular highlight and catching a pass that was behind him, spinning, looking up and kicking to the far wing with pin point accuracy so Tommy Seymour didn’t have to break stride on his way to the try line showed exactly what he can do.

While Russell may not make The Lions this year, his kicking from the tee is not as strong as others and he’s struggled to find some form this season, at only 24 he still has another opportunity and he will almost certainly develop and mature. If his career continues to rocket the way it has he could become a world class fly-half the envy of many clubs and countries.

Follow The Pen on twitter here and for more blog posts you can catch him here.