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Finn Russell has backed Owen Farrell to star at his old club Racing 92 and said he would love to play with the former England captain again with the British & Irish Lions next summer.
Russell, the Scotland and Bath fly-half, spent five years in French rugby as Racing’s No 10 – the shirt now filled by Farrell after his move from boyhood club Saracens to the TOP14.
The two playmaking stars were part of the same Lions squad in South Africa in 2021 and Russell is eyeing up a reunion in Australia in 2025.
Farrell’s Racing move means he is currently ineligible for international rugby with England, but he could still feature for the Lions.
Farrell’s father Andy – the current Ireland head coach – is the man in charge of the 2025 tour to the southern hemisphere.
Finn Russell has backed Owen Farrell to be a success in France after joining Racing 92
The move came after the fly-half bid a tearful farewell to his boyhood club Saracens in May
‘It is a long league. I don’t think he will be used to the length of it,’ said Russell, a TNT Sports ambassador, when questioned about Farrell’s Racing move.
‘You have to change your mindset. But I think (Racing coach) Stuart Lancaster will manage the players differently to French coaches. Lancaster and Farrell know each other already and will get on really well. It just depends on what their vision is and what the French vision is.
‘That is where the clashes could come, I think. Owen will fit in really well. I got on really well with him in 2021 with the Lions. I had heard he was so focussed and intense, but I didn’t see any of that at all. I thought he was quite chilled out. He was relaxed.
‘I had a laugh with him. If he has got that mindset over there (France) he will be fine. I hope he manages to gel them (Racing) all together. I hope he learns the language because that will help him a lot in terms of communication. It is quite easy when you get over there just to speak English.’
Farrell and Russell have been on two Lions tours together – in New Zealand in 2017 and in 2021. Farrell was a Test regular on both those trips. Russell, meanwhile, was a late call-up in 2017 but more of a key figure four years later. While there are still 11 months to go before the 2025 tour, the Scotsman must currently be a leading contender for the Lions 10 shirt.
Russell is well aware of the rigors of the Top 14, having spent five seasons at Racing 92
In 2021, Russell and Farrell played together for the Lions in one warm-up game with the Englishman outside Russell at inside centre. Russell believes a repeat could work in 2025.
‘I think we view the game differently, so there would be a bit of a clash there, but I think we would be good enough mates that we would get on with it and we would find that middle ground,’ said Russell. ‘We would have to find that balance between us, but he (Farrell) is a brilliant player and I would love to play with him. I don’t know if he will be there or not.
‘I don’t know if I will be there or not, but I would love to play with him if we get the chance – maybe back at Racing in a few years, who knows?
‘We have always had an interesting relationship when we have played against each other.
‘At the start it was head-to-head almost but recently, even before the Lions, it turned into a friendship. I can remember having a laugh with him.
‘It shows how he has relaxed with his mindset. He is still so focused and driven to win, but maybe we have both changed the more we have played against each other and chatted a bit off the pitch. Maybe we have made that relationship. I like the bloke.’
Russell said he hopes the pair can share the pitch as team-mates for British and Irish Lions
The Lions tour of Australia will be the main event at the climax of the 2024-25 season which begins next month. Tickets are already hard to come by with thousands of British fans eager to travel after the 2021 trip was played behind closed doors due to Covid-19.
‘In 2017 we knew from the start we were out there for 10 days to do the midweek games then we were going home. It was a different kind of mindset,’ Russell, still only 31, said.
‘In 2021 I was there from the start. I loved that tour, even though it was Covid.‘It was an amazing experience, but if I was to be able to do one with the fans that is something I would love to do. It would be such a different experience having the fans there to the first and second tours I went on. That would be a complete Lions tour.’
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