When Eddie Hearn and Matchroom entered into the world of rugby union, there were two star names they wanted to pursue immediately.
Two players whom they knew could transcend the sport and help take rugby to new audiences, both on and off the field.
Henry Pollock was the first to be snapped up, the Northampton back-rower who has rapidly become the golden boy of English rugby over the past 18 months.
Finn Russell soon followed, the Scotland superstar who might well be the most gifted fly-half on the planet, and a player whom Hearn described as the ‘Lionel Messi of rugby’.
They were statement acquisitions for Hearn’s management group and it has become clear over recent months that it was by no means just a publicity stunt.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Sport recently, Hearn spoke of his plans to ‘blow up’ rugby and revolutionise the sport.
Scotland fly-half Finn Russell is excited about the direction rugby is travelling in
Established conventions, he believes, are there to be challenged. As a sport, rugby has struggled to modernise itself and sell itself properly.
This was never more obvious than the botched Six Nations Netflix series a couple of years ago. It was terribly dull, lacked any depth and behind-the-scenes access, and was binned after just two series.
Russell spoke about this at the time as being a missed opportunity. But as one of the two marquee names now in Hearn’s stable, things are a little different.
For starters, Pollock has recently appeared topless on the front cover of Men’s Health, as well as the front cover of Tatler, which is a more upmarket magazine.
What are the chances of Russell following suit and getting his kit off for a photoshoot?
‘Pollock’s been on the front of a couple of magazines and whatnot,’ said the Scotland star. ‘I don’t think I’m ready for Men’s Health yet but give me six months!
‘It’s definitely good getting more eyes on the game. These kind of collaborations wouldn’t have happened in the past.’
When you speak to people in rugby about Hearn’s involvement, there tends to be a split. The traditionalists view him as a mouthy disruptor.
There is resistance to his plans to change the formats of some competitions as well as his ability to have players plastered over the front pages of magazines.
But there are also plenty of others who have welcomed the shake-up and extra exposure, and who view his involvement refreshing for a sport that can often feel stale to those beyond its natural fanbase.
Alongside Russell, Northampton’s Henry Pollock has become one of the game’s biggest stars
‘I wouldn’t say I’m Eddie’s top client, that’s Pollock,’ smiled Russell. ‘Then again, it’s only me and Pollock, so I’d be disappointed if I wasn’t one of the top ones. I think Eddie’s great, he’s really good for the sport.
‘It just seems like rugby is everywhere now. Maybe it’s just the people I follow and what you’re seeing on your social media, but it definitely seems like people are much more aware.
‘England and Pollock are much bigger than Scotland for rugby. It just seems like there’s more eyes on it, it seems like everyone’s chatting about it, everyone’s asking about it now.
‘I don’t know if Eddie’s planning on coming up for any of our games in the next few weeks, he’s got a lot of stuff going on with his other things.
‘Obviously the Fury-Joshua fight. Could he get me tickets? The ring walk’s going to be late at night and I’m meant to be playing the next night. It would be great to be there, but I’m not sure.’
Russell has his own heavyweight showdown to contend with next weekend as the Scotland prepare to take on the mighty All Blacks at Murrayfield.
Scotland have never beaten New Zealand in 33 previous attempts, despite coming agonisingly close on the last few occasions.
It has been a busy period for the Scotland and Bath fly-half, who got married in the summer, before recently celebrating his 34th birthday.
Happily married and settled with kids, Russell is now something of an elder statesman for club and country as opposed to the young tearaway.
‘The wedding was good fun, as expected,’ he said. ‘Marriage is obviously a big thing. There was probably a lot of planning going on last year, not as much from me, more Emma.
Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn is eager to ‘blow up’ rugby union and revolutionise the sport
‘But there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes. I wasn’t doing that much of it but it’s still there.
‘And then obviously last year off the back of a Lions tour, I found myself slightly more mentally fatigued. There was probably too much going on last year but that’s all out the way now.
‘Hopefully it’s more settled, we’re obviously settled in Bath for the last couple of years, we both love it there and I would definitely love to stay [his contract expires in 2028]. It just depends what comes up contract-wise.
‘I’m just hoping to play some good rugby. If we can start converting a few more of these chances, then life on the pitch will be really good. Life off it’s good but life on it will be really good as well.’
Scotland are now just a year out from the World Cup. Over the next few weeks, they will face New Zealand, Australia and Japan as they build towards the finals of the Nations Championship.
Russell knows it would be a major feather in their cap if they could finally get over the line against the All Blacks after so many near-misses in recent times.
‘I definitely think there’s always been a belief, but I suppose for us against the top teams, it’s just about being able to play for 80 minutes,’ he added.
‘We know how good the All Blacks are. They’ve really hit form since Dave Rennie’s gone in there, especially.
‘We know it’s probably not good enough against the top teams to run them close and just lose at the end, or lose by eight points against the All Blacks every time.
‘We need to try to change something to get these wins. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ve got to get the ball, and that’s our job to do.
Scotland lost 25-17 to New Zealand last year to extend their winless run against the Kiwis
‘Every team is probably building towards the World Cup subconsciously just now.
‘I wouldn’t say if we were to beat the All Blacks, that’s going to get us ahead of ourselves in thinking anything different about the World Cup.
‘We’ve still got a lot of games before that obviously. But in terms of our mindset and that belief and confidence, just to be able to turn over a team like the All Blacks would be really good.
‘Would that be us turning a corner? You would hope so, but I don’t know. We’ve not beaten them, so I don’t know how it would be after that. But it would definitely be a big, big step forward for us.
‘It would show us that we can’t just go toe to toe and fall away at the end of the game, we can actually put these performances in to win.
‘It comes down to individual games at a World Cup. A big win against New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, whoever it is, would be good for our confidence going into the World Cup.’
