'If he was an All Black, you’d be saying he’s the next Dan Carter' - Dawson
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Former British and Irish Lions scrumhalf Matt Dawson believes Finn Russell would be dubbed "the next Dan Carter" if he were an All Black.
Dawson raved about the performance of Finn Russell in the final Test against the Springboks after the Scotsman replaced Dan Biggar early on in Cape Town.
"Finn Russell was excellent and made a huge difference to the way the Lions played," he told William Hill.
"He showed that not only is he such a skilful and visionary player but when he’s amongst fellow great players, he can be super special. If he was an All Black, you’d be saying he’s the next Dan Carter, he’s that good.
"And I think he realised that. You could see in his interview afterwards, this was a real seminal moment in his career where he can do this at the highest level.
"Why is he not doing this week-in, week-out for Scotland and Racing 92? It wasn’t risky rugby, it was imaginative, the right plays, the right passes, the right kicks. Hopefully, it was a big moment for Finn and going into the next Lions tour in four years, he should be thinking he’ll be the main man."
The Finn Russell show in the third test ⚪️🍫#BoksvLions #LionsRugby #CastleLionsSeries
pic.twitter.com/RlIBkiOhYj
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) August 9, 2021
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Russell spoke about where he feels the Lions erred on the tour and what role he could have played.
“For me, when I’ve been watching the games, the way I play is slightly different.
“So I’ve been watching it and thinking if we do one or two things differently, we could maybe have had different outcomes – the South Africa A game and the second Test.
“I think tonight I’m happy I got the chance from about 11 minutes to show the style of rugby I would have played against South Africa.
“For me, it was pleasing to have actually got on and chucked it around a little bit.
“I just went on knowing we had to move them around a bit and play some expansive rugby. I just went on and played my style of rugby.
“That showed in that performance tonight.
“We’re gutted to have lost the series, but the boys can take a lot of pride from that performance.
“We’re going to be hurting, but it was a great performance, a team performance. We just didn’t managed to get the win.
“I’ve had two weeks training, so I was ready for it.
“It’s been a bit of a frustrating tour for me.
“I tore my Achilles at the start and tried to get on with it.
“The first couple of games were maybe not as good as I wanted them to be, but I think I played quite well tonight.
“For me, it’s great to go out there and get some good game-time in the red jersey.
“I loved every minute when I was out there.”
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