Bath and Scotland fly-half Finn Russell is looking forward to an unusual experience this Saturday — being cheered at Twickenham in the Premiership final against Leicester.
Normally, when Russell plays at Twickenham with Scotland, he is seen as the enemy by English fans. But this time, things will be different. As Bath’s key player, he will have strong support from the club’s fans who will be filling the stands, hoping to see their team win their first Premiership title since 1996.
Russell played a big role in helping Bath reach the final, scoring 14 points in their 34-20 win over Bristol in the semi-final. That victory earned Bath their second straight trip to the final.
The 32-year-old said he’s excited to play in front of a packed crowd, especially with so many Bath supporters expected to attend. “It’s always great playing in front of a sold-out stadium,” he said. “Hopefully, most of the crowd will be Bath fans. That would be really special.”
He also added how different this experience will be compared to his past visits to Twickenham. “Usually, when I play there, it’s 70,000 people cheering against me. Now, it’s great to have them on my side for once.”
Finn Russell is focused on helping Bath win the title this time, after their tough 25-21 loss to Northampton in last season’s final.
“That defeat has motivated all of us,” Russell said. “It’s not easy to come back after losing a final, but everyone returned for pre-season training in great shape and worked hard right from the start.”
Bath topped the regular-season Premiership table and have already won two trophies — the European Challenge Cup and the Premiership Rugby Cup. Now, they are aiming for a third title to complete a treble.
Johann van Graan’s team finished the season 11 points ahead of second-place Leicester. Russell urged the team to finish strong by winning the Premiership final at Twickenham.
“Our main goal this season was to win the Premiership,” he said. “Now we’re in a great position to make that happen. We’ve worked our way back to where we want to be, and hopefully this time we can go all the way.”
