Time for Scotland's star Finn Russell to reap the rugby rewards his talent deserves

Friday’s Challenge Cup final marks the start of what should be a momentous 10 weeks in the career of Finn Russell as he looks to reap the rewards his career deserves.

The Scotland stand-off is on the cusp of helping Bath return to their preeminent position in the domestic and European game, ending a long period in the doldrums for one of English rugby’s great clubs. He will then join up with the British & Irish Lions as they bid to win a Test series for the first time in 12 years.

It is a summer alive with possibilities for the most gifted Scottish player of his generation and it begins in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium as Bath take on Lyon in the first of two Anglo-French European finals.

Finn Russell celebrates Glasgow Warriors' win over Munster in the 2015 Pro12 final in Belfast, his only major club honour. | SNS Group

The main event will see Northampton Saints face Bordeaux-Begles in the Investec Champions Cup showpiece on Saturday. But first comes the Challenge Cup final and the chance for Bath to return to the European podium. It is 17 years since they last claimed the trophy, beating Worcester in the final at Kingsholm, and they will go into Friday’s final as overwhelming favourites against opponents who sit 11th in the Top 14 standings.

In truth, Lyon have saved their best form for Europe which should be warning enough for Johann van Graan’s treble-chasing squad.

Quest for a historic treble

“Lyon are a solid team,” noted Max Ojomoh, who comes into the Bath team at 13 in place of Scotland centre Cameron Redpath. “In the Challenge Cup you’ve got to win round of 16, quarters, semis, so you’ve to beat some big teams to get here. They’re obviously going to be a good side. French sides are big, fast, so we’ll see what we can do.”

Lyon disposed of the Sharks, Ospreys and Racing 92 in the knockout rounds, having come through a group which featured Cardiff, Zebre, Connacht and the Cheetahs. Bath started off in the Champions Cup but finished fifth in the pool stage and dropped into the last 16 of the Challenge Cup. They beat Pau, Gloucester and Edinburgh to reach the final and maintain their quest for a historic treble.

Finn Russell helped Bath beat Edinburgh in the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final. | Getty Images

They won the Premiership Rugby Cup in March, overpowering Exeter Chiefs 48-14 in the final at Sandy Park to claim their first domestic trophy in 29 years. If that domestic bauble - won on a Six Nations weekend when international players are otherwise engaged - lacks a little lustre, the same cannot be said of legs two and three of the potential triple crown.

Scant reward for such a brilliant player

Bath are a club with a proud European tradition having been the first English club to lift the Champions Cup in 1998. The chance to add the 2025 Challenge Cup to their palmarès is one they will try to grasp with both hands. For Russell, 32, it would be his first European club honour. The fly-half was on the losing side when Exeter defeated Racing 92 in the Champions Cup final five years ago and you have to go back a full decade for his only previous major club honour: the Guinness Pro12 with Glasgow Warriors.

It seems scant reward for such a brilliant player but that can all change in the coming days. After the Challenge Cup final, Bath will resume their quest to be crowned English champions for the first time since 1996. They are guaranteed to top the standings at the end of the regular season and have home advantage in the play-off semi-finals on June 6 against the team which finishes fourth. Bath will be favourites to reach the final on June 14 and if they do make it to Twickenham the aim will be to go one better than last year when Northampton Saints defeated them.

Finn Russell in action for Bath alongside his Scotland team-mate Cameron Redpath who is not in the team for the Challenge Cup final. | Getty Images

That was a disappointing afternoon for Russell at a venue where he has achieved notable success in the Calcutta Cup, lifting the historic trophy three times. This feels like his time. He was deservedly short-listed this week for the Gallagher Player of the Season award but it is the major honours that Russell craves and steering Bath to success in the Challenge Cup and Premiership would set him up perfectly for the Lions’ summer tour of Australia and the chance to cement further his legacy.

A treble with Bath followed by a Test series win over the Wallabies with Russell at 10 would embroider a career that has entertained and thrilled the rugby public for over a decade but has been low on tangible rewards for the player himself.