Spencer and Russell are the perfect pair

IT started with a headlock and a chewed ear, but the relationship between Ben Spencer and Finn Russell has developed into a half-back partnership made in heaven.

- By JON NEWCOMBE

Just as Russell and the studious Johann van Graan didn’t appear to be a good match from the outside looking in when the South African signed him from Racing 92, it was hard to imagine at first the Scot and Spencer hitting it off, despite them both being 32 years old.

One was viewed as a maverick with all the tricks and flicks, while the other the very epitome of Saracens’ straight-jacketed, box-kicking style of play. But almost from the word go, the two have put to bed any misconceptions and gelled incredibly well.

Typical of rugby, a few beers helped to break down any barriers. “Before I came, Cam Redpath was kind of like, ‘I am looking forward to seeing how you and Spenny get on’,” Russell recalled.

“I remember after that Newcastle game (Russell’s debut for Bath in 2023), after I had just come back from the World Cup, we had a team social in Bath and I had Spenny in a headlock and I was biting his ear and saying, ‘just give me the ball’, and that was the start of it, and now we’re here.