Former Falkirk RFC ace Finn Russell ready for 'special' All Blacks clash
Former Falkirk fly-half Finn Russell says that he is relishing a “special” fixture against the All Blacks this Saturday at Murrayfield.
The Scotland talisman – who was at Falkirk for the 2011/12 season after leaving Stirling County and before moving on to Ayr – is looking forward what will be just his fifth meeting with New Zealand since his Test debut more than 12 years ago.
“There’s always something special about playing New Zealand,” said the Bath ace. “As a kid you grow up watching the All Blacks, the Haka, etc.
“The way they’re playing, especially since (head coach) Dave Rennie has come in, they’ve been awesome.
“They’re up there in the top two in the world with South Africa. It’s an exciting challenge for us to have.
"For Scotland you don’t get to play the All Blacks that much so it’s always great fun.”
Russell, who has started all five of Bath’s Premiership matches this term, feels he is in good fettle after spending much of last season re-energising following his British and Irish Lions exertions in 2025.
“I had quite a lot of time off and I felt like I didn’t play that much last season,” said the 34-year-old. “After the Lions I had a few weeks off at the start of the season.
“I think it was a season where I was getting back into it after a really big year before, having won everything (with Bath in 2024-25) and then going to the Lions, it was probably a tough year to come back into.
“But I’m feeling good this year, mentally feeling fresh and physically feeling good.”
Saturday is likely to be a landmark day for Russell as the 34-year-old can win his 100th Test cap.
At the moment, he has 95 for Scotland and four for the Lions but he insists next Saturday is about beating the All Blacks, not his personal milestone.
“I think it's slightly different when it's your 100th Test cap instead of a 100th Scotland cap,” he said. “
It's pretty cool, but not something I've been thinking about too much. You almost separate the Lions and the Scotland caps.”
Scotland, famously, have never beaten the All Blacks, with New Zealand coming out on top in 31 of the 33 Test matches played. The other two matches were drawn.