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Finn Russell shares thoughts on Racing future after Lancaster deal
By Liam Heagney
Finn Russell has shared his thoughts on his contract situation at Racing 92, the French club where ex-England coach Stuart Lancaster will take over for the 2023/24 season. The 30-year-old Scotland international's current deal expires next June at the Parisian club he joined in 2018 from Glasgow and his next move has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks.
The out-half has now addressed these rumours, Russell telling rugbyrama.fr: “Are you really sure that I'm going to leave? My agent is coming to spend a few days in France to discuss my situation. Nothing is really settled yet.
“I love France, I enjoy every minute here and I don't know if I want it to stop. I learned French and since then my experience of everyday life has not been the same at all. In my eyes, the journey is not over. I'm not in a rush. Stay? Leave? We'll see what happens in the next few months.”
Asked when he knows about Lancaster, who will be arriving at Racing from Leinster, Russell added: “I don't know him personally but he gives Leinster a dynamic, spectacular and effective game. Racing was not mistaken in its casting.”
Russell has started all five of the matches Racing have so far played in this season’s Top 14. It’s a busy period but one that he is enjoying, unlike last year when he suffered when picking up the thread in France after being away in South Africa with the British and Irish Lions until August.
“I feel good right now. I'm fresh, fit. I have regained my level of play. My last season wasn’t satisfactory and I suffered from it. But I understood why and I adapted. It was my choice but I played too many matches last season. I had come home tired from the British Lions tour in South Africa, I had hardly rested after those games and my body didn't really support that pace.
“I now try to talk to the coaches in a more open way, to tell them openly that I sometimes need a rest and they understand that. I can't play every game. It's neither good for me nor for the club. Today, the fatigue that plagued me last season has disappeared. My relationship with Laurent Travers is only better. We all learned from last season.”
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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