5 Things to Know About Lions call-up Finn Russell, including job before rugby

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by Rugby Rucker

Monday, 07 June 2021 at 15:21

byRugby Rucker

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Scotland fly-half Finn Russell has been selected for the British and Irish Lions squad to take on South Africa.

There’s no question that the speedster will be in and around the Test team.

FACT: Russell has made 30 break assist passes in Test rugby since the last Lions Tour, no tier one player has more

Here are five things you might not have known about Finn Russell...

#1. AMATEUR CAREER

In 2013, he received the John Macphail Scholarship, spending 15 weeks in New Zealand's South Island playing for local clubs in the Christchurch area. He benefited from the state-of-the art facilities and specialist coaching offered by the Canterbury Rugby Football Union international high performance unit.

#2. WORK

After secondary school, Russell worked for three years as a stonemason. He recalled that time in a 2015 interview with Newport:

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

#3. TENSION WITH THE SRU

His Dad won an unfair dismissal case that he brought against the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) it is being reported. Keith Russell successfully brought legal proceeding against the SRU after he was dismissed from his position as Director of Domestic Rugby.

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#4. HUGE EARNER

When Racing 92's offer of a rumoured £750,000 a year coincided with the sacking of his father Keith by his Scottish Rugby Union employers in a nasty spat that ended up in the courts, Russell upped sticks and headed to Paris.

#5. BROTHER

Finn's younger brother Archie may not play professionally but turned out for Cambridge Univeristy in the varsity match against Oxford in 2017, scoring a try in a 20-10 victory. They also played together for Ayr.