No Hart ache for stand-in Farrell
RARING TO GO: Farrell OWEN FARRELL will not kick up a fuss if Eddie Jones orders him to hand back the England captaincy to Dylan Hartley.
Some former players and coaches have called on the head coach to make Saracens star Farrell his permanent leader up to the World Cup next year.
They claim Hartley, 32, would be the wrong choice of skipper despite making his return to action from long-term concussion problems last week.
The Northampton hooker played in a warm-up match against Glasgow and is hoping to start the new Premiership season next weekend.
But despite “enjoying the challenge” of being skipper for the 2-1 summer tour defeat in South Africa, Farrell is not confident of keeping the job.
He said: “Dylan is a brilliant captain and he has done an unbelievable job over the last three years. He has the highest win percentage of any England captain, which is pretty special.
“He does so much work both on and off the field and I can’t speak highly enough of him.
“It will be up to Eddie to decide what he wants to do in terms of captaincy and it would be good for the team if Dylan is pushing for a place again after his problems.
“I enjoyed leading the team in South Africa. The lads were brilliant and that made it easier for me.
“It’s a huge honour playing and captaining your country in any game.
“Results-wise it didn’t go well for us until the end but we learned a lot from the experience and will be ready for the Springboks at Twickenham.
“We will have to make sure it was a good lesson and we use it positively.”
Farrell, 26, shrugged off fears he has not had enough time to recover from his efforts with club and country.
He said: “I feel fit at the moment. All I can say is I am hungry to keep playing and do my bit for the team.”
NEW ZEALAND won the Bledisloe Cup for a 16th consecutive year with a 40-12 victory over Australia in Auckland.
Beauden Barrett scored four tries and kicked five conversions, while Joe Moody and Liam Squire crossed for the dominant All Blacks at Eden Park.
Will Genia and Reece Hodge scored tries for Australia.
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LEW BEAUTY: Lewis Tierney celebrates after grabbing Catalans’ opening try