NEXT month's Rugby World Cup could hardly have come at a better time for Finn Russell and that might just mean for Scotland too.
In 2015 he was still a raw, maverick talent as the national side reached the quarter-finals.
In 2019 he was part of a team that failed to deliver and got knocked out at the group stage.
But now the 30-year-old stand-off is at the height of his powers. Physically as fit as ever, mentally refreshed after a decent summer break, and far more of a leader of this Scotland side than ever before.
It has been some transformation. Just under a year ago, head coach Gregor Townsend, right, left Russell out of the squad for the Autumn Tests, insisting that on form he was only the fourth best fly-half in the country. That was never a credible claim.
But there was no doubt that Russell was below his best for much of 2022.
After playing for the British & Irish Lions in the summer of 2021, he had hardly had a break from rugby for the best part of two years, and that took its toll.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 19, 2023 من Daily Record.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 19, 2023 من Daily Record.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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