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More than a year after being handed the keys to his Bath home, Finn Russell is finally starting to feel at home in the spa town. Granted a summer off by Scotland manager Gregor Townsend, Russell has been making good use of his time, welcoming a second daughter, landscaping the garden and zipping around the cobbled streets on an electric bike as he gets to grips with his new home.
“During the season you don’t have time to fully settle in,” Russell explains. After leaving Racing 92, the fly-half skipped the World Cup last autumn to jump straight into the Gallagher Premiership season. “You get used to the rugby team, but you also get used to the house and the city. Now my partner has really settled in and she loves it here.”
“I was back in Paris this weekend and you could say there were a lot of other sports and events in Paris. Rugby is just a small part of it. In Bath it seems like it’s all rugby. There are a few cafes and restaurants that we go to a lot. We chat to other people and they seem very friendly, which is nice. Whether it’s because we’ve had a good season… if the results had been different, maybe it would have been different!”
It was a good season. The first shoots had begun to sprout at the Rec before Russell arrived, but his magic only encouraged them to sprout, taking one of English rugby’s most successful clubs back to the Premiership final.
Bath have come within minutes of domestic triumph and are well placed to return to the title. While other title contenders have lost key players, Johann van Graan’s squad remains largely intact. A few key additions have added depth – Russell singled out young winger Guy Pepper, lured south from Newcastle, as a player to watch – but the Scot is not the only one feeling settled.
“As a group we’re in a good position at the moment,” Russell said as Bath prepare to open the new campaign against champions Northampton on Friday, September 20, live on TNT Sports. “We haven’t had too many changes, it should be easy to integrate.
“It’s been a long time since I played in a final. Coming back to a final gives you the taste of the final again. We got a red card after 20 minutes and we were leading until the 73rd minute. We were so close that it motivates us a little more.
“We can’t look back on last season and think, ‘Ah, we got to the final, we’ll get there again.’ That’s back to square one. We believe in our game processes and our players.
“But last year, eight out of ten teams could have qualified with two games to go. With a few changes, you never know how things will go, and last year showed how close it can be. A bad result or a poor performance can cost you a place in the top four.”
The arrival of a new family member and the Bath pre-season have kept Russell off the golf course, his game having developed with the help of his brother-in-law Ewen Ferguson and his friendship with Scottish Open winner Bob MacIntyre. While a tendency to be overly ambitious has kept his handicap around 10/10 (“I try to play like I’m a scratch golfer: if there’s a 350-yard par four, I’ll try to drive it onto the green”), it also reflects the sense of creativity and adventure that Russell has used to his advantage on the rugby pitch.
That spirit and talent remain vital to Scotland a decade after his debut, even as the squad depth grows behind him. Russell has been an interested observer of Scotland’s summer tour of the Americas, with the absent co-captain set to step into the starting jersey before the autumn. Next year, a third tour with the British and Irish Lions seems a certainty.
In the year since the Lions’ last trip, Russell admitted to feeling worn down by a hectic schedule. Thanks to his summer off, he’s lost 17 pounds since then, and there’s still plenty left in the tank for a player who came to professional rugby later than most after an apprenticeship as a stonemason.
“I definitely plan to do the [2027] “I don’t think I’m going to retire anytime soon. I’m 31 now, but I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in.”
“As long as I keep enjoying myself and playing well, there’s no reason for me to stop. In sport you often have lows, but the highs you can have, you can’t get anywhere else. I’ve got young children now, I’d like them to be old enough to remember some of the moments in my career. I’ve got pictures of my daughter and I running around at Murrayfield, and at Bath, but she won’t remember any of those pictures. In four or five years’ time she will – I might have to play until I’m 45 if I have another one!”
“I’ve bought a few properties back home and I’m about to buy some more. I’m open to what I do next but I’m not entirely sure yet. I just want to get everything organised while I’m playing so I can finish when I want and not be forced into anything. But I have no intention of finishing rugby or international rugby: I’m going to play as long as I can.”
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