Finn Russell explains kicking tweak after Calcutta Cup agony as Bath bid to scratch 29-year itch

Twickenham wasn’t a happy place for Finn Russell back in February when his last-gasp conversion slipped wide and England reclaimed the Calcutta Cup for the first time in five years.

The Scotland stand-off returns to the scene of the crime for Saturday’s Premiership final in the blue, black and white of Bath feeling altogether more comfortable with his kicking game.

Russell, who missed three from three in the agonising Six Nations defeat, tweaked his technique for Scotland’s next game against Wales and hasn’t looked back.

Finn Russell has already helped Bath win the European Challenge Cup this season, beating Lyon in the final in Cardiff. | Getty Images

He kicked 17 points as Bath clinched their first European title in 17 years with a 37-12 win over Lyon in last month’s Challenge Cup final in Cardiff. Now Leicester Tigers must be overcome if the West Country side are to reclaim the English championship crown they last won in 1996.

It is a pivotal moment for both player and club. Bath paid top dollar to bring Russell to the Rec in 2023 and he and head coach Johann van Graan have set about restoring the famous institution’s preeminence in the English game.

It’s easy to forget that Bath finished bottom of the Premiership as recently as 2022. Van Graan arrived at the Rec from Munster that summer but it was the signing of Russell from Racing 92 a year later that helped turn them into title challengers. They reached last season’s Premiership final but were beaten by Northampton Saints after which Russell apparently told van Graan: “We’ll just have to do it next year now.”

They go into Saturday’s game as odds-on favourites and Russell is relishing a return to the stadium which has witnessed some of the most extreme highs and lows of his career.

“I know the other side of playing at Twickenham – usually when I am there, it is 70-odd thousand fans against me,” said the fly-half. “But it is always special playing in that stadium and hopefully our fans can make as much noise as possible.”

Finn Russell looks dejected during the Guinness Six Nations 2025 match between England and Scotland at the Allianz Twickenham Stadium on February 22, 2025. | Getty Images

Last year’s 25-21 loss to Northampton can be placed in the debit side along with the recent England-Scotland game and the 2017 Calcutta Cup match which saw the hosts pulverise the Scots 61-21. But Russell also knows what it’s like to lift the trophy at English rugby’s HQ. He masterminded the stunning comeback which saw the visitors come from 0-31 behind to draw 38-38 in 2019, a result which saw Scotland retain the Calcutta Cup. He also pulled the strings as Scotland prevailed 11-6 in 2021, their first win at Twickenham in 38 years, and again in 2023 as Gregor Townsend’s side triumphed 29-23.

Russell will relish the big stage and have no qualms about assuming kicking duties once more after rediscovering his touch via a back-to-basics readjustment.

“I kicked well in the last two finals,” he said. “I started kicking off the deck instead of putting it on the tee for the warm-up. I feel that gets me in a better position kicking the ball and makes me more kind of relaxed and more natural.

“That’s something I changed in the Six Nations after the England game, I did it before going into the Wales game, I think it was. I’ll do that again this weekend and hopefully it’ll be the same outcome.”

Russell was 100 per cent off the tee against Wales, converting all five of Scotland’s tries in the 35-29 win, and the good form has continued since. He now finds himself on the brink of a first league championship since he helped Glasgow Warriors win the Pro12 ten years ago.

“I came here to win things,” he said. “I think as a group we’re going in the right direction to, hopefully, achieving something special.

“We’ve almost got back to where we want to be but, hopefully, we can go one step further. I love big games and playing in front of a sold-out Twickenham will be brilliant for us.”

Russell is one of three Scotland internationals in Bath’s match-day 23. Cameron Redpath, who missed the Challenge Cup final through injury, will start at inside centre and back-row forward Josh Bayliss has been named on the bench. Cameron Henderson is flying the Saltire for Leicester and victory at Twickenham would be especially sweet for the lock who missed a year of rugby after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament last season.

Cameron Redpath, right, will be outside Finn Russell as Bath take on Leicester Tigers in the Gallagher Premiership final. | Getty Images

Bath finished top of the Premiership at the end of the regular season, 11 points ahead of second-placed Leicester, and this weekend’s final has a whiff of nostalgia about it. The two clubs dominated the English top flight in its early years, winning 12 of the first 15 titles between 1988 and 2002. Leicester have continued to vie for top honours, clinching the league in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2022 to take their tally to 11 but you have to go back 29 years for Bath’s last success.

For van Graan, it’s time to cast aside the weight of history.

Scotland lock Cameron Henderson helps Leicester Tigers beat Sale Sharks in the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Semi Final | Getty Images

“When I joined Bath, you look at the history, the tradition, you read up on the club, and you see that this club at a time was was incredibly successful, specifically through the 1980s and the 90s,” the South African coach said.

“One thing that we all did together is we respect our history, but we started the club at zero in our minds on July 11, 2022. We respect everybody and everything that has gone before, but for us, it has been a journey of the last three years.”

There will be no rest for Russell. After his appointment at Twickenham he will join up with the British & Irish Lions for the tour of Australia and he would love to travel south having kicked Bath to a long-awaited triumph.