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A chip off the old block

Nature or nurture? It’s an issue that arises whenever fans discuss the physical and mental attributes that go to make an elite sporting superstar. Almost certainly the answer is somewhere along the spectrum of ‘a bit of both’, as witness the ’10,000 hours’ rule that Matthew Syed, columnist for The Times, and others have espoused as a prerequisite in terms of the hard yards that need to be applied to even the greatest of inherited sporting genes.

In this context the Farrell family would appear to have had a lot going for them. Andy Farrell, still only 42, enjoyed his first (and greatest) playing career in rugby league at which he is acknowledged as one of the all-time British greats, representing Wigan, England and Great Britain (34 caps) before moving into the union version, playing as a centre threequarter for Saracens and England (8 caps).

Since then, with first Saracens, England and now Ireland and the British & Irish Lions – he has made his name as one of the world’s foremost defence coaches.

Separately, his son Owen Farrell, 26 – yes, he was born when his Dad was just 18 – has had a glittering career in rugby union both at fly half and inside centre: to this point, he’s amassed 52 caps for England (603 points) and 4 for the British & Irish Lions. He’s also won three Aviva Premierships, two consecutive European Rugby Champions Cups and the European Player of the Year award in 2017 with Saracens, not to mention consecutive Six Nations titles in 2016 and 3017 with England.

In a straw poll of leading rugby players and coaches taken last week, he was most often named as the world class player they’d like to add to their own club squad.

With the Farrells the importance of character and ‘the top two inches’ cannot be exaggerated.

In both codes of rugby Andy is renowned for the strength of his character. I once had a personal insight into it. Not long after he had switched to rugby league – when Saracens were still undecided as to whether his best playing position would be in the back row or as a centre threequarter – by chance I happened to travel around the M25 to watch a night-time midweek A League match between Saracens and Harlequins in which he was named as a substitute, potentially about to make his first ever public appearance for the club.

About ten minutes into the second half of an unmemorable match, he duly made his official rugby union debut as a flanker. I remember it well because, even as he was trotting onto the pitch, he was already gesturing to the other Saracens players, telling them where they should be standing and giving them the old ‘gee-up’. And thus he continued for the remainder of the match. I recall reacting that this was the attitude of either a man with a monstrously over-sized ego getting wildly ahead of himself – or alternatively one of alarming self-assurance and inner strength, given that he was effectively a complete novice at the 15-a-side game and had a huge mountain to climb in terms of becoming accepted as a leading union player.

All the evidence since has been that it was the latter. Even though Andy came to rugby union some way beyond his best years, and subsequently was plagued with a succession of injuries, so that his playing career was slightly disappointing, he has since undoubtedly proved his pedigree as a coach and motivator. In fact, so strong is his character that some point to the importance of his dominant influence over Stuart Lancaster in the latter’s widely-discredited attempt to bring rugby league legend Sam Burgess into England’s 2015 Rugby World Cup squad which has recently been lamblasted in Rob Andrew’s well-publicised new book.

I can see Andy Farrell going on to greater things in rugby union coaching, either with a leading elite club or even one day back with England at some point in a senior capacity.

Meanwhile, back to Andy’s son Owen.

Here I have to hold my hand up. I used to be a sceptic as regards his talent and reputation.

I granted him his inherited talent for games with the oval ball – and indeed the no doubt beneficial influence of being exposed to his father’s indomitable strength of character and work ethic – but I felt he was not the true article as an international fly half, pointing to his ‘playing by numbers’ approach (rather than off-the-cuff flair and twinkling feet demonstrated by the likes of rivals Freddie Burns, Danny Cipriani and George Ford) and apparent lack of speed.

Sure, he could kick his goals with metronomic precision and consistency – few could match him in this department – but the romantic in me wanted my fly halves to be will ‘o the wisps who tore up the playbook and delighted crowds by routinely opting for the unexpected, like the maverick former All Black and Northampton jack-in-the-box Carlos Spencer.

I have to say that over the past three seasons Owen Farrell has proved me conclusively wrong.

Beginning with his surprise performances for the 2013 British & Irish Lions in Australia, he has consistently shown that the bigger the occasion – and the greater the pressure – the cooler, better and more ruthless he becomes. He’s his father’s son in this respect and may even be the greater of the two, at rugby union at least. And that is high praise indeed.

Owen is 26 and the next five seasons will see him at the very peak of his powers. Recently – more openly since last weekend when Saracens put Northampton to the sword away from home in the Rugby Champions Cup pool stage by the margin of 53 points to 17 (the second time this season that Saracens have put 50 points on the Saints) on a day when the rugby media was majoring upon the ‘clash of the hookers’; in other words, the issue of whether the in-form Saracens’ Jamie George should be picked for England ahead of Northampton’s Dylan Hartley, the England captain – one or two pundits have been speculating as to who might succeed to the England captaincy if Jamie George gains Eddie Jones’ nod in the starting XV front row.

Owen Farrell’s name has been mentioned as a candidate.

Given the years I’ve been only grudgingly accepting him as a valuable member of the England squad, I never thought I’d be typing these words but I’ve now moved to the camp that would support Owen Farrell as a candidate if ever the England captaincy came up for grabs.

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About Sandra McDonnell

As an Englishwoman married to a Scot, Sandra experiences some tension at home during Six Nations tournaments. Her enthusiasm for rugby was acquired through early visits to Fylde club matches with her father and her proud boast is that she has missed only two England home games at Twickenham since 1995. Sandra has three grown-up children, none of whom follow rugby. More Posts