DAN BIGGAR: Culture clash as two terrific 10s tear it up

10/06/2023 Rugby Union

DAN BIGGAR: Culture clash as two terrific 10s tear it up… I love both Scotland’s Finn Russell and Ireland’s Johnny Sexton, but they are very different players

  • Ireland take on Scotland in a crunch World Cup clash on Saturday evening 
  • Both sides are blessed with terrific No 10s in Johnny Sexton and Finn Russell 
  • The pair are different personalities and players but are so important to their team
  • Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results

It made me laugh when I heard the chat about Ireland and Scotland colluding to knock out the Springboks tonight. It’s not in Johnny Sexton’s nature to lose a game of table tennis in the team room, let alone a World Cup match at the Stade de France.

I feel pretty confident in saying that his team talk won’t be, ‘Come on lads, let’s throw this match and get the Boks out’. We will have a full-blooded Test match on our hands.

Ireland have earned their status as favourites by winning 16 Tests on the bounce. It almost becomes a habit. They will want to win and win well.

The No 10 battle between Sexton and Finn Russell will be great to watch. I spent time with both of them on the 2017 and 2021 Lions tour.

Before the decider in New Zealand, everyone else went out bungee jumping and Johnny stayed in the team room watching clips on the laptop. Finn likes to let his hair down a bit more, enjoying a beer during the week.

They’re very different personalities and players but they’re both so important to their team. Here’s how they compare…

The No 10 battle between Johnny Sexton (left) and Finn Russell (right) when Ireland take on Scotland on Saturday night will be great to watch. They are both terrific players

However, the pair are also very different personalities and players, but are crucial to their team

GAME MANAGEMENT 

Everyone sees Finn as this guy who just lobs the ball around brilliantly but his game management has improved considerably over the last couple of years.

He’s still got all the skills but he’s become an all-round 10; knowing when not to force the pass or overplay. That’s reflected in Scotland’s results because they’ve conserved a bit more energy at the back of the pitch.

Johnny never overplays and rarely makes the wrong decision. He’s Mr Consistent. He’s 38 but he’s as important to his team as he was two World Cups ago.

Whenever I play against Johnny, I know he’s going to make the right decisions and you’ll get very few ‘ins’. He’s done it so many times and that adds pressure to the opposition.

What Ireland and Johnny are very good at is playing percentage rugby so they don’t give you cheap possession in their own half. You don’t get cheap field position.

Scotland like to move the ball and that creates opportunities to force turnovers. How Finn manages that in his own half could be key. Ireland prefer territory to possession and Scotland are probably the opposite.

Ireland will want the game structured and organised whereas Scotland will want it to be broken up with transition moments to bring in their X-factor players.

Sexton never overplays and rarely makes the wrong decision. He is known as Mr Consistent

KICKING 

Johnny is so good at long, contestable kicks. Ireland are extremely well-drilled and their kick chase is so well-organised. Everything they do looks like it’s been perfected in training.

Scotland kick a lot through Finn whereas Ireland put a lot of box kicks through their No 9 to take the pressure off Johnny. 

Finn has more tricks and his short kicking is better but the accuracy of Johnny’s kicks gives him the edge. If Scotland’s pack get rolling then you’ll see Finn with short little grubbers, short cross-field kicks, 50-22s. They’re much more difficult on the back foot.

Russell’s short kicking is better than Sexton’s but the latter’s accuracy gives him the edge

PASSING 

Finn wants the ball in his hands, loads of touches and to be on the ball spraying passes. Johnny and Ireland are quite happy to play off nine, playing percentages, meaning Johnny picks his moments when he wants the ball. He waits for the moment to pull the trigger.

Finn’s range of passing is incredible. He makes it look easy. Those wide, off-the-cuff passes are the best in the world. I think he’s happy with the perception that he just wings it but he put in a huge amount of unseen work on the Lions tour. He is probably far more naturally talented than Johnny but there’s no one who is more relentless in the pursuit of excellence. Johnny’s drive is priceless.

It’s something he was born with, a bit like Owen Farrell. I’ve played with so many brilliant players who would have been the world’s best with two per cent of the drive that Johnny or Owen have, because there are more physically gifted players out there.

Russell’s range of passing is simply incredible. He makes the game look easy on occasions

RUNNING 

You wouldn’t put either of them in a similar category to a Marcus Smith, Richie Mo’unga or Beauden Barrett. They like to pull the strings but Finn’s ball movement at the line is very good. He’s happier to take the tackle, getting defenders to come out and bite so he can throw an offload.

Johnny likes to bring all of the weapons outside him into play. Finn has a bit more of a crack and Ireland will have looked at that.

Whenever we play Finn it’s always about defending the ball rather than the man. There’s a big emphasis on covering the inside because he looks for runners there.

The pair are not known for their running but Sexton has still scored three tries at the World Cup

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