Former British & Irish Lions and England star Matt Dawson has hailed the talents of Finn Russell after the fly-half’s performance last Saturday.

Russell came on for the injured Dan Biggar in the 11th minute and played a crucial role in the tourists producing their best display of the tour.

It didn’t end in victory, with the Lions profligate in the opposition 22, but the Scotsman left South Africa with his reputation very much enhanced.

Some wondered whether the series would have been different with Russell at the helm throughout the three Tests and Dawson compared him to New Zealand legend Dan Carter.

Super special

“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.”

Should Russell be in Australia in 2025, it could be under the guidance of Warren Gatland, according to Dawson.

The New Zealander has led the last three Lions tours and the ex-scrum-half believes that he has done more than enough to take the role in four years’ time.

“He’s obviously very good at it and given the time constraints and general constraints around this tour, the adversity that he, the players, the staff and the Lions as a whole overcame was magnificent, and they were a whisker away from winning a Test series,” Dawson added.

“He’s won in Australia so he’s got that under his belt, he’s got a drawn series in New Zealand, he’s been nicked at the death with the last kick of the game in South Africa – he’s got a very good record as Lions coach.

“Why would we want to change that? This is not just about rugby coaching, this is about bringing elite players together to go down to the southern hemisphere and win. It takes more than just the players.

“You’ve got to bring them together, organise them, you’ve got to motivate them and you have to understand the Lions brand. It’s not an easy task at all and we’ve got someone who’s very good at it.”