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Five clubs plot huge swoop for Scotland talisman Finn Russell

Finn Russell of Bath Rugby looks on during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images)

Five clubs from the Gallagher Premiership, the Top 14 and Japan are already on the starting line to open talks with Scotland and Lions superstar Finn Russell when he enters the final year of his £1.2m contract with Bath next July, RugbyPass understand.

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Russell, 32, one of the most creative fly-halves in the game, has scored 397 points in 81 Scotland appearances and is their fourth all-time leading scorer, with only Chris Paterson, Greig Laidlaw, and Gavin Hastings scoring more for their country.

A key part of the Glasgow Warriors squad that lifted the PRO12 title in 2015, Russell enjoyed a hugely successful stint in Paris with Racing 92 before moving to Bath after Scotland’s early exit from the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

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The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

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The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

Racing are understood to be one of the clubs interested in signing Russell, but the decision would depend on what former England skipper Owen Farrell does when his two-year contract expires at the same time.

The pair participated in the Lions’ 2017 tour to New Zealand and, four years later, the trip to South Africa, and Russell, who made 107 appearances in five seasons with the Paris glamour boys, is still highly regarded at La Defense Arena.

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He was spotted deep in conversation with the Racing president Laurent Travers when he attended Scotland’s 32-15 defeat at the hands of back-to-back World Cup winners South Africa at Scottish Gas Murrayfield last Sunday.

Stade Francais are also keen to speak to him, and former Premiership and Champions Cup winners Saracens have also expressed an interest, as have Japanese side Urayasu D-Rocks, who Laidlaw now coaches.

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Laidlaw is keen to link up with his compatriot Russell in the Japan Rugby League One.

Bristol Bears owner Steve Lansdown has made him his No 1 target to play alongside his Scotland international team-mate Tom Jordan, who the West Country side have lined up for a move next summer.

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Comments

5 Comments
C
CB 7 days ago

All a tad premature I would have thought..

E
Ed the Duck 7 days ago

There a little bit inside that would die if Finn signed for $arrie$ after the impact they had on Warriors European chances…!

T
Tom 7 days ago

I don't seem him going to a different English club. If he leaves Bath he'll go abroad.

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J
JW 49 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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