Finn Russell omission reveals rugby’s deepest problem
The omission of Finn Russell from Scotland’s 2022 Autumn Nations squad was entirely “for rugby reasons”, Head Coach Gregor Townsend has said. In justifying his decision, Townsend cited the fly-half’s struggle to find form and consistency as key reasons for his exclusion.
His comments have predictably been met with confusion and disbelief from the rugby public.
This is after all the same Finn Russell who, in eight appearances for Racing 92 in the Top 14 this season, sits as the league’s 4th-top points scorer with 87 points and has slotted 30/33 (90%) kicks at goal.
Last weekend, Russell scored 18 points and set up three tries to defeat reigning Top 14 champions Montpellier.
Glasgow’s Ross Thompson, meanwhile, picked ahead of Russell in Scotland’s squad, has scored zero points in just 20 minutes of rugby this season. Even if the four meters he’s carried for were from him running backwards through a solid brick wall, it’s unclear what ‘consistency’ Thompson has shown at all, let alone in comparison to Russell.
Sorry Gregor, but nobody’s buying it.
And it’s this questionable selection decision that has once again exposed a deep problem, one that lies at the heart of professional rugby.
Once we peel back the façade, it’s clear that Townsend’s decision is far from a rugby one. Rather, it’s an attempt to assert his authority over Russell, to knock him down a peg or two.
In other words, it reeks of tall poppy syndrome.
It is important at this point to caveat that the true nature of the Russell’s misdemeanours have not fully come to light. Was it simply a case of three beers instead of the allotted two, or we’re his abuses of a far more serious nature?
As is stands we do not know. However, the tallest poppy problem is one well recognised as plaguing the game of rugby, notably from the likes of Beauden Barrett and Ellis Genge.
To me, this situation is a case in point.
Russell’s maverick reputation precedes him. He is thought of as a man gifted with natural talent who can rock up to a ground, do a couple of hamstring walks before effortlessly pulling the strings.
Indeed, this reputation is why he is so adored. He is relatable to rugby fans, someone who always looks to be having fun on the pitch and not afraid to attempt the outrageous.
But for Townsend, this is exactly his sticking point. Russell’s reputation has become something slightly above that of the Scotland side as a whole, and he can’t handle it; if he could, he’d face up to the Russell issue directly instead of ludicrously claiming he is out of form.
To be clear, I am not suggesting it’s ever acceptable for a player to think of themselves as bigger than the team, and if Townsend truly believes that’s what Russell thinks, he has every right to exclude him.
But in Russell’s case, his importance has been raised by nothing other than the adoration of Scotland fans. His pedestal is one forged for him, not in any way by his own hand.
Rather, what seems to be at play here is rugby’s inability to rid itself of the shackles of amateurism.
The professional game today is stuck. On the one hand it still yearns back to a mythical bygone amateur era that requires stasis, while on the other it recognises the necessity to embrace commercialisation if the game is to survive and thrive.
And the likes of Finn Russell are those who personify the latter. He is a player who the fans want to champion and thus should be championed by the game. In perhaps the game’s most vulnerable moment since the turn of professionalism, rugby must relish him rather than scythe him at the knees.
In this way, it becomes clear that Townsend’s attitude to Russell is indicative of a resistance to growth that anchors rugby to the seabed, one that manifests in a rejection of individual personalities. His actions are naive and against his country’s interests.
Tow the party line or be struck off is the policy, an attitude rooted in amateur ideals that prevent the game from finally accepting professional rugby as professional, not the grass-roots game it’s now divorced from.
Russell, and others like him, must be given the room to breathe. His appeal comes from his authenticity and forcing him to be anything but that is a travesty.
