“Finn Russell has a compelling case as Scotland’s greatest.”

What was life like for Scotland before Russell, before the sheer skill of hand and boot, before the vision and execution, the confidence and character that gets you out of your seat and, yes, the risk that can sometimes make you hide behind it when things go wrong?

Scotland’s attack was largely barren in the Six Nations from 2000 to 2015, when Russell emerged in earnest. In 16 successive seasons, Scotland have never achieved double figures in tries scored in a five-match tournament.

They averaged less than six attempts per tournament. Crossing the line was an arduous task.

Then text. In his second Six Nations, Scotland scored 11 tries, then 14, then 11, then 14 again. This number dropped to seven in 2000, the year Russell parted ways with his coach Gregor Townsend. The following year, with the restoration of Russell, the number of attempts rose to 18. They average about 14.5 per country nowadays.

They have 10 in the first three games this time. That’s not all on Russell. He had Darcy Graham, Van der Merwe and Steen in midfield, and he had Hugh Jones and Sione Tuipolo in midfield. He had Blair Kinghorn at full-back and Ben White and George Horn at scrum-half.

But Russell dominates everything, and for a decade he has been the focus of attention from opposing coaches in every game he plays. It made life more difficult, but it shows the respect he gained.