The Scot’s introduction sparked a turgid Test series into life and he kept pushing for victory until the very last minute
![Finn Russell’s invention helps Lions lose with a roar rather than a whimper | Gerard Meagher](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c5e7ab77ceda1808caa5beaa39947e4959e07fa2/0_62_4722_2832/master/4722.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdG8tZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=501c6f04317219d2bbc8cc9d95f055d1)
The best script writers always give fly-halves the leading role. It would have seemed unfathomable not so long ago that Morné Steyn would kick a late penalty to win the series against the
British &
Irish Lions 12 years on from having done precisely the same thing, and equally Finn Russell seemed destined to play just a watching brief only a few weeks ago.
All credit to the Springboks and Steyn for once more displaying icy veins when the pressure was at its greatest, but Russell’s performance in this nerve-shredding decider was equally significant and for large spells it looked as if he might just be the star turn. This has been a series in which taking risks has at times seemed like a serious offence so it does not feel like hyperbole to say the mercurial
Scotland fly-half almost single-handedly brought it to life. The turgid nature of these Tests has been a turn-off but, when Russell is on the pitch and in the mood, it always pays to watch.