"Just a bit of craic" - Finn Russell reveals how Andy Farrell 'put to bed' the feud with Johnny Sexton in Lions camp

This 'fued' stemmed from the 2021 Lions tour, when Warren Gatland selected Russell ahead of Sexton for the trip to South Africa. This did not sit too well with an understandably frustrated Sexton, who would go on to call Russell a 'media darling', who was 'flashy'. Such comments would then also be published in Sexton's autobiography, as the Leinster legend recalled his frustration at the decision.

However, since taking up a role upon the Lions coaching staff, Sexton had the opportunity to publicly clear the air in a recent media session. "There’s been a lot made of the situation – mainly by you guys in the media,” he said.

"It wasn’t even really about what I wrote in the book. It was more stuff I said when doing the media rounds. But it’s all been blown out of proportion. I was reflecting on how I felt back in 2021, more what I thought Gatland was thinking than my own opinion. But that’s sport. You deal with it and move on.”

Finn Russell was able to share his perspective in a recent Lions media event, with the Bath man insistent that any issues were promptly squashed between the two fly halves. Russell explained how Lions head coach Andy Farrell made short work of any potential issues, with Russell enjoying the opportunity to work with Sexton out in Australia. When asked if Sexton was at all overcompensating and treating Russell extra nice in the training camp, Russell said;

"No, no, it's just a bit of a craic I suppose. It was never a thing. When we came in, we had a laugh straight away and Andy kind of put it to bed so that was good. Not that it was ever going to be an issue I don't believe. I think we're all here with the same goal which is to win the series.

"I've only been here a few days but it's been good working with Johnny. I'm happy to bounce questions off him and chat to him about what he's seeing because with the numbers we've had he's had to jump in sometimes. So it's been quite funny being on the same training side as him.

"It's good to have a guy with experience here. I can chat to him and bounce things off him as and when I need. All the coaches seem open to have conversations and have chats. It's a good environment to be in."

Russell arrived at the Lions camp with plenty of catching up to do. The halfback had spent the previous weekend on club duties, as Bath won their first Premiership title since 1996. However, Russell had to promptly snap out of his celebrations, along with the 12 Leinster players that arrived in camp after winning the United Rigby Championship on the same day.

"There were 12 Leinster boys that won as well. I think it's obviously nice coming in after having won, but you're straight into the next job and you forget about your club and the season you've had. It's getting back to work here and getting straight back into learning the calls and learning how to work with each other and how we're going to play this campaign."

"There's always a bit of catch up. When you get into camp there's a new playbook so you've got to learn that. It's all the same plays but different words, so it's kind of like a different language. We trained on Tuesday, I think it was and you're slightly off the pace, but then we had a couple of other sessions and walk-throughs through the week.

"So I think come Monday next week or whenever we're training it should be fine. I wouldn't say you're off the pace, it's just getting the language and getting to know everyone."