Finn Russell to Bath fulfils ‘dream big’ philosophy - and it could be good news for Scotland

Finn Russell’s Paris highlights showreel is up there with the Moulin Rouge but the cabaret is packing up and leaving town, next stop Bath.
Finn Russell and Cameron Redpath combined well for Scotland against Argentina recently and will link up at Bath next season. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)Finn Russell and Cameron Redpath combined well for Scotland against Argentina recently and will link up at Bath next season. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Finn Russell and Cameron Redpath combined well for Scotland against Argentina recently and will link up at Bath next season. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Racing 92 seemed the perfect fit for the Scotland stand-off, a club at which he could showcase his lavish talents, and he had a supporting cast to die for. Their freewheeling, off-the-cuff rugby seems a world away from the prosaic, kicking game favoured by Bath this season but it is to the West Country that Russell is heading.

He will move to the Recreation Ground after next year’s Rugby World Cup, with Bath confirming on Tuesday they had signed the 30-year-old. They did not specify Russell’s length of contract, but it is thought to be worth around £1 million a year.

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You don’t spend that sort of money on a marquee player and not supply him with the tools to do the job. Bath are in the midst of transformation. Eighteen defeats saw them finish rock bottom of the Gallagher Premiership last season and prompted an overhaul of their coaching staff in the summer. Johann van Graan is now in charge and when he took over at the start of the campaign he said he wanted to “dream big”. Bath are currently eighth in the 11-team table but there is a greater durability about them this season even if flair has been in short supply.

The Glasgow Warriors coaching staff were taken aback by how much Bath kicked the ball during the sides’ recent Challenge Cup match at the Rec and at first glance van Graan’s philosophy seem an unlikely match for Russell’s invention. But maybe this is a signal of the direction the South African coach wants to take the club, adding a creative fulcrum once he has sorted out the fundamentals.

There will be some familiar faces alongside Russell, most notably inside centre Cameron Redpath. The pair combined with Chris Harris in the midfield axis which helped Scotland defeat England at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years in 2021. Injuries have conspired to deny Redpath many more chances at Test level but he did reunite briefly with Russell during Scotland’s thumping win over Argentina in the autumn, coming off the bench to score his first international try after the stand-off played him in with the perfect grubber.

Such a combination ought to have Bath supporters salivating and it will be good news too for Scotland if the pair can continue to develop an exciting partnership.

Redpath is not the only familiar face at the Rec where Russell will link up with another Scotland colleague in Josh Bayliss as well as his former Glasgow Warriors team-mate D’Arcy Rae as Bath look to restore their former lustre.

Finn Russell is leaving Racing 92 after five seasons. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)Finn Russell is leaving Racing 92 after five seasons. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Finn Russell is leaving Racing 92 after five seasons. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

While they have been in the doldrums in recent years, Bath remain one of the great clubs of English rugby, with a strong fanbase. Their Scottish connections run deep too, with Andy Nicol skippering them to Heineken Cup glory in 1998, the first British club to land European club rugby’s greatest prize.

Russell came close to winning the trophy himself with Racing in 2020 and will have one final stab with the Paris club this season before bringing his precious talents back to the UK. It should make for a fascinating show.

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