In Finland you will find one of Rugby Europe’s longest servants, who has been around since the early 2000s, giving his all for club, country and the sport he embraced when he was 18-years-old.
Known as ‘Tumppi’ by his teammates, Thomas Finell reached his 70th cap for Finland in the past weekend, helping his country earn a hard, well-fought victory against Latvia.
The playmaker, who also has amassed more than 200 games for the Warriors Rugby Club, never had imagined he would still be around twenty-one years after his first cap.
“To be honest I never thought that I was going to still be playing at this age. Even when I blew out my 30 birthday candles, I didn’t have any clue that I was going to play for ten more years. I am 41 now, turning 42 in October, and let’s see how many times I get picked to play for Finland.”
The Finnish playmaker’s first cap was in 2004, when Finland took part in an international tournament alongside Norway and Israel, playing as a fullback for his side. Astonishingly, he had joined the sport two years before.
“I played basketball from a young age, and also tried ice hockey, football and a few other sports until my 18thbirthday. One day a friend of mine told me to join him in rugby practice, as he thought it would suit me better than basketball. I tried it once and… was hooked. I went to that session without the appropriate footwear, and I kept sliding and slipping, but I fell in love with the sport.”
His baby steps were not small at all, and in 2003 he tried to convince the national team’s staff to pick him for a tour. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out at the time.
“Let me take you back to 2003, when the national team hosted a training camp. I went there and, unfortunately, I didn’t make the cut. It was probably the right call, because I had little experience, but I felt gutted. I wanted so much to be part of the team and nearly missing out pushed me to work more. In hindsight, that day sparked a fire in me. I ended up getting called a few months later.”
His long-lasting career was built over a steady foundation of hard work and self-belief.
“I don’t have any secrets or silver bullets to offer, I’m afraid. For me it came down to hard work. I try to keep my body ready for rugby as best as I can. I don’t believe there’s a substitute for hard work, especially when we talk about rugby.”
However, even having played 70-caps, some as Finland’s captain, the utility back still feels the same emotions as he did in his first Test Match.
“I remember standing in the tunnel and feeling nervous. I was really nervous and kept pacing around non-stop and it didn’t change with time. I still feel nervous every time I represent Finland. But going back to that first game, I remember that I forgot to learn the Finnish words for the anthem, as my first language is Swedish. I ended up singing the Finnish national anthem in Swedish. But for the next game I learned how to say it in Finnish! The last memory I have from my debut was scoring my first try for the national team.”
That first game sits at the top as one of his favourite all-time games, alongside their 20-15 victory over Moldova in 2019.
“That game against Moldova has a special place in my memory. They were so way above us in the World Rugby rankings. No one was expecting us to beat them. So, you can guess how we felt when we accomplished that feat. Unforgettable. And obviously my first cap.”
Having been involved in most of Finland’s outstanding victories, his 70th cap couldn’t be any different, with his nation taking down Latvia in an away game. Finell tried to not think much about it, but it ended up being an impossible mission.
“I was actually trying to not think about being my 70th cap, but it ended up being an impossible endeavor, as it was being announced on social media. It’s a lot of games; a lot of work has been done to be able to represent my country in the last 21 years. I feel privileged and proud to have been picked so many times to play for Finland. I couldn’t ask for more.”
After more than 20 years playing alongside so many players, Thomas Finell now tackles the task of picking the teammates he enjoyed playing alongside the most.
“Without hurting anybody’s feelings, I will stick with two teammates, Ossi Aro and Jussi Viljanen. Ossi is a very special individual and the way he puts his body on the line is awesome. Jussi, who has been our captain in the last few years, is an exciting guy to play next to. He does his job really well and you can always expect great things from him.”
With Finland having won two of the last three games, Thomas Finell shares some details about his team’s latest improvements.
“For the last two years we have had the opportunity to set up several camps before the start of the Men's Rugby Europe Conference in the Eerikkilä Sport & Outdoor Resort. As we can’t play in the Winter due to weather conditions, we get together once a month between January and April, working for a weekend. In those camps we focus on our conditioning, skills and some team routines, warming up in the best possible way for the games. It is tough, as we go to the first batch of games with no-game time. It is a challenge.”
credit:Foto Zigismunds Zālmanis
Alastair Davies and now, Andrew Barlow have been integral for Finland’s growth as a rugby nation.
“For the last ten years we have been able to pretty much keep the same core players, with all of us working and improving in that time. Our previous head coach, Alastair Davies, did really a great job in taking us to another level, helping the lads to improve and believe in themselves. With Andrew Barlow as our new head coach, I do believe we will keep improving.”
Despite the positive results, Finell hopes for rugby to become more embraced by the Finnish public.
“Although we still don’t have that rugby club culture that you find in other countries, we have seen kids more interested in getting involved. We were used to not having age grade competitions, but things have slowly started to improve on that front.”
Although he has been around for a long time, the fly-half never thought about giving up even when his nose almost went off the map.
“No, never. Honest. However, I think life tried to throw a couple of obstacles in the way. I remember that I shattered my nose some years ago in a game and had to go to surgery to get it fixed. As everyone was so worried about me and kept looking at my face like there was something very seriously wrong with it, I thought it was the end. When the doctor came to talk to me, I instantly asked her ‘Look, I have a game against Bosnia in five weeks. Will I be able to play?’ and her answer was ‘Let’s first deal with this problem and then talk about what comes after’. Long story short… I played against Bosnia.”
For him, his family has been crucial in the whole journey.
“Obviously, my mother and siblings have always been very supportive since the first moment, as well my partner and son when they became part of my life. My partner has been my bedrock, helping me find the time to practice when I get home from work, or finding a way to fit everything together with the lot of travelling I have to do to play games.”
Having been a household name for Finnish rugby, Thomas Finell hopes that his example can inspire others to follow his footsteps.
“I hope other people will see me as a hard-working player, especially off the pitch. I always fought to elevate that jersey to a better level and if I could share a bit of advice with the young crowd it would be to work hard when nobody is watching. Those are the moments that will help you shine.”
With Thomas Finell slowly walking to his 40s, he sheds a light about when he might draw an end to his rugby Test Match career.
“There’s still some gas in the tank to play a few more games, if I am picked. I haven’t picked a retirement date.”
This will be the case on Saturday for the last game of Conference 24/25 season in Estonia.
Francisco Isaac
