'It's funny being on the same side as him' - No lingering Lions tension for Russell and Sexton

Opposing tens for so many years with Ireland and Scotland, Sexton had retired by the time he spoke publicly about the ‘flashy’ nature of the Bath out-half

Sat, 21 Jun, 2025 - 18:00

Brendan O'Brien

Any suggestion that Johnny Sexton and Finn Russell might have trouble coming together as parts of the same team would have been cut short last week when the British and Irish Lions went about their business at the UCD Bowl.

Opposing tens for so many years with Ireland and Scotland, Sexton had retired by the time he spoke publicly about the ‘flashy’ nature of the Bath out-half and how Owen Farrell would be his own preference for a Lions playmaker.

That was before his appointment as an assistant coach with a Lions squad whose most experienced out-half is none other than Russel. So, Sexton was keen to dismiss the import of those words when facing the media in Dublin last week. Blown out of proportion, he said.

That old chestnut.

In truth, this was absolutely a potential source of angst and awkwardness in a camp that has little time to bring disparate personalities and erstwhile enemies together for a tour on the opposite side of the world and at the fag end of a long season.

Word has it that Andy Farrell went about lancing any possible boil by addressing it in front of the wider squad. Whatever was said, or not, Russell is adamant that the two of them have found themselves on the same page, on and off the field.

“It was never a thing almost,” said the 32-year old. “When we came in we had a laugh straight away and Andy kind of put it to bed so that was good. Not that it was ever going to be an issue, I don't believe.

“We're all here with the same goal, which is to win the series. I've only been here a few days but it's been good working with Johnny. I'm happy to bounce questions off him and chat to him about what he's seeing because with the numbers we've had he's had to jump in sometimes.

“So it's been quite funny being on the same training side as him.” That assimilation is key to every Lions tour.

There are a record 18 Irish players in the squad, two-thirds of those from the one province, while the likes of Northampton Saints and Glasgow Warriors are supplying their own fair shares to the travelling party.

That Irish core has been buttressed in the coaching staff and in the various support departments. Farrell has always been credited with a high level of emotional intelligence, though, so any barriers should be overcome.

“I wouldn't say there's barriers,” said Russell. “Players are going to have players they're more friendly with. If you've got a pair of old Leinster boys you know each other very well. I know the Scottish boys and English guys know the English guys and Welsh are the same.

“You're always going to get these pockets where you're more comfortable with each other but over the last few days it seems like everyone's mixing really well. When you get into it you become a team so quickly. For us coming in this week you saw the boys had relationships and that was all built from last week in Portugal.

“It does change so quickly and you build these relationships so quickly. Whether they're an Irish set up or an English, Scottish or whatever it is, I don't think it makes too much of a difference. We're all here with the same goal and trying to pull in the same direction.” Russell flew into Dublin on the back of Bath’s Premiership title in 29 years and one that sealed a treble thanks to the already claimed Premiership Cup and Challenge Cup trophies. All that and a new three-year deal with the West Country club.

Fin Smith is a superb out-half who did fine against Argentina on Friday. Marcus Smith started that one at full-back and seems third in line for the No.10 short as things stand. Russell is also the only one who has worn this shade of red before.

Part of the controversial ‘Geography Six’ called up towards the end of the 2017 tour to New Zealand, he travelled from the off four years later in South Africa and produced the first real dash of the tour when finally given his Test shot ten minutes into the final game.

This really should be his time.

Farrell has talked about the later arrivals having to play catch-up and he has no problem with that after celebrating Bath’s triumph last weekend and joining the Lions party only last Monday. New playbook, different words, unfamiliar faces. That’s just the gig.

Friday’s opener against the Pumas, regardless of the disappointment with the result and collective performance, was always going to help in getting people on the same page, but it might be a few more runs before we can figure out what sort of rugby team this Lions outfit will be.

Tommy Freeman has voiced an intent to play on a side that plays heads-up rugby and scores plenty of tries. Well, as a winger, he would. The reality can be more pragmatic for the game’s most famous tourists, but what does Russell see as the ‘Lions way’?

“I wouldn't say there's a typical Lions way. That would depend on the coach," he replied. "With Andy there and the coaching staff we've got here, it's hopefully going to be a free-flowing, fast style of rugby we're going to play. There's obviously a lot of structure in there but then at times if there's no structure we're happy to play unstructured rugby as well.

“So it's getting that balance of using structure to create unstructured, and then go from there. It's just different types of coaching. I wouldn't say there's a Lions way of playing. It depends on the coach, it depends on the players.”