Watch: Russell sends 109kg France lock Woki flying backwards

Finn Russell is known for many things, but massive tackles has never been one of them – on any player, let alone Test locks.

But the Bath flyhalf surprised everyone at the Rec on Sunday when he smashed Racing 92 lock Cameron Woki onto his back. The most surprised of all in the Investec Champions Cup encounter, however, was Woki himself, who clearly did not expect it from his former teammate.

Russell played alongside the France lock last season at Racing 92, where he probably did not build a reputation for producing hits like he did. The 109kg lock’s eyes must have lit up when he broke through the Bath defence and saw the Scotland No10 rushing across the field to cover, but he produced a textbook tackle.

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Ben Spencer did help Russell out slightly in this situation by slowing Woki down slightly, and preventing him to prepare for the hit from the Scot, and credit must also be given to the Frenchman for being able to keep the ball alive by popping it up from the floor. The camera panned to him soon after, where he could only smile in disbelief over what happened.

Watch the tackle here:

Finn Russell goes bang 💥#InvestecChampionsCup #BATvR92 | @BathRugby pic.twitter.com/voVIHyoGu4

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) January 14, 2024

This short passage of play sums up how the Champions Cup encounter went- Racing looked very threatening at times and were able to carve through the Bath defence on a number of occasions, but the West Country outfit were able to stand fast and hold on to a 29-25 victory.

It was not only Russell’s defence that stood out in this performance though, as he was pivotal in overturning a 22-8 deficit in the second-half as Bath kept their unbeaten record in Europe this season intact and secured their place in the knockout stages with a round remaining. Racing, meanwhile are winless this season, and must beat Cardiff this weekend and rely on other results to progress.