WATCH | Finn Russell sets up two tries with magical kicks

Saturday, 12 September 2020 at 09:01

bySteven Smith

Scotland international Finn Russell stole the show as Racing 92 overcame Montpellier 41-14 in the Top 14 on Friday at the Paris La Defense Arena.

It wasn't all plain sailing for the hosts, who had Kurtley Beale sent off after a dangerous tackle on France centre Arthur Vincent on his home debut.

The home side's dominance continued into the second half as Virimi Vakatawa and Antonie Claassen benefited to touch down after delicate Finn Russell kicks.

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5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Finn Russell

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.

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.^[9]

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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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.

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.