FAZ TRACK TO ENGLAND CAPTAINCY
Legend Stransky urges Jones to give the top job to Farrell but warns he won’t help them beat the Boks
WORLD CUP winner Joel Stransky says the time is right for England to make Owen Farrell captain – but warns it won’t save them in South Africa.
The concussion haunting Dylan Hartley means Eddie Jones must name a new skipper on Thursday, when he announces his squad for next month’s three-Test series against the Springboks.
And Stransky (below), who dropped the goal that won the Boks the 1995 World Cup when Farrell was a three-yearold toddler, has no doubt the Saracens star is the ideal man.
Stransky said: “Owen has really come of age.
“He’s a great decision-maker who wears his heart on his sleeve and leaves everything out there.
“Those are the traits you want from a leader.
“And when you are an established player in the team, one that picks himself and demonstrates great leadership, it’s a no-brainer.”
According to Stransky, it has not always been that way with Farrell, who clinched the Premiership’s Golden Boot award with 16 points against Gloucester on Saturday.
“I had my doubts three or four years ago,” he said.
“Based on the fact he was a little hotheaded, he’d have the odd brain explosion. But that seems to be a thing of the past.
“And anyway, Eddie showed with Hartley that he likes to give the hot heads more responsibility to calm them down.
“So giving Farrell the captaincy may well be the perfect thing to do.”
Stransky warns that whoever Jones chooses has their work cut out to end England’s three-game losing streak – against a Springboks side under new management.
Not only has Rassie Erasmus, the highly-rated ex-boss of Munster, taken charge, he has persuaded South African chiefs to relax the ban on picking overseas players.
“To be quite frank when we, as South Africans, talk about the teams we like to beat the most other than the All Blacks, we mention Australia and, definitely, England,” said Stransky. “So this is a huge series for us.
“South Africa will feel that home ground advantage is big.
“The fact it’s the end of the northern hemisphere season and England players will be tired is another consideration – as are their injuries.”
Courtney Lawes, George Kruis, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Nathan Hughes, Sam Underhill and Hartley are already ruled out.
“All that paints a picture where you’d think the Springboks should be feeling relatively confident,” Stransky added. “England-South Africa is not a fixture you can just pitch up to expecting to win. I take South Africa to win the series 2-1.”