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Finn Russell fitness addressed by Bath after Scotland star limps out of Premiership semi-final victory
@Source: scotsman.com
Finn Russell is expected to be fit to lead Bath in next weekend's Gallagher Premiership final despite limping off near the end of the semi-final victory over Bristol on Friday. The Scotland stand-off inspired a second-half comeback for his side as they overcame a seven-point deficit at the break before eventually prevailing 34-20 over their near-neighbours to set up a clash at Twickenham next Saturday against either Leicester Tigers or Sale Sharks. Russell bagged 14 points and was key to Bath's second-half turnaround before being replaced in the closing stages. Bath head of rugby Johan van Graan reassured supporters that the 32-year-old was only suffering with cramp. “Multiple parts of his body are cramping,” he said. “He put in some effort, I thought. His goalkicking was phenomenal, the chases that he put in too. He was still cramping in the changing room but there’s no reason to suppose he won’t be fine. “It was amazing how many guys on both sides went down with cramp. It just showed the effort that both teams put in. We worked incredibly hard to get into this position, to get back to Twickenham.” Russell has become a talisman for club as well as country and did his British & Irish Lions starting credentials no harm at all with this performance, which included kicking four conversions and two penalties. Van Graan added: “That’s a Premiership semi-final for you. We knew this was going to be a tough game and we picked a 23 that we believe will get the job done. “I thought at 34-13, we got some momentum but Bristol is a good team. They kept on attacking and it’s never dead on 34-20. It was some game of rugby. We knew that we were going to be stretched but we actually defended pretty well. “At half-time we spoke about our game and composure. It shows that we are a team that is fluid and adaptable. We made one or two tactical changes and then our fitness came through, our hunger, our will to win. “At 13-6 we had a penalty. Many teams would have kicked for the posts but we went straight for the kill and made it 13-0. How good was the crowd! They gave us so much energy so we dominated them in the second half. “I’m incredibly proud of this win and that we did this not only for ourselves but for the city. The people of Bath were amazing tonight.”
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