RUGBY UNION OW SO READY
Farrell made to be skipper’
Farrell, who wins his 50th England cap today against Italy, was a 19-year-old Saracens starlet when fly-half Hodgson signed up and made the move down south from Sale in 2011.
Faz had made his first- team debut in 2008 – when someone called Eddie Jones was Sarries coach – but Hodgson recalls that the youngster still had plenty of rough edges.
Farrell, now 25, would chuck in the odd on-pitch tantrum back in those days but was soon making his Test debut, against Scotland in February 2012, with then veteran Hodgson alongside him.
And Hodgson, 36, now head of recruitment at Saracens, reckons Faz was wise beyond his years thanks to his dad, rugby league legend Andy – and is a shoo-in to be England skipper sooner rather than later.
Career
Hodgson said: “Owen followed his father around, watching his career from a very young age, seeing how it worked, not in union but still i n a professional environment. You can see that in his approach to games and training, he is desperate to succeed.
“That has never gone away. He has learned over time just to control his emotions more when it comes to that side of things.
“In the early stages of his career Owen could probably get carried away a bit with the competitive side of things, reacting to set-backs... but he now has real control about what he does.
“There is an edge to what he does, but it is controlled.
“His strengths were defence and the aggression that he brought to that midfield, but he has added a few more touches to his game now.
“He takes people on and he makes more breaks and is more comfortable in the firing zone rather than being a pivot and just passing the ball to others.
“He is a real talisman on the field. A lot of the team look to him for inspiration.
“They look to him to produce something and more often than not he does do that. Whether it is his goal-kicking that keeps the scoreboard ticking away and his team ahead or he puts in a big hit.
“He is so vocal he brings a lot of energy to a team. That is why he is classed as captain material.”
Back at Murrayfield in 2012, Hodgson scored the winning try in a 13- 6 win. It was Stuart Lancaster’s first game in charge, and a nerveless Test debutant Farrell added the rest of the points.
Hodgson recalled: “Owen seemed to take it all in his stride.
“He said recently he was a bit more nervous than he would be for a normal game but that is only to be expected. Now he prepares himself to the best of his ability so he can go in sharp.
“His attention to detail and work ethic is first class and he is reaping the rewards.
“I wouldn’t say that he is an ‘obsessive trainer’. He does spend time out on the field but he is also aware of himself and aware of his body – what he can and can’t do.”