Danny Cipriani first exclusive column
My verdict on England captain Owen Farrell
When he coached England, Andy Farrell looked after attack as well as defence. I learned a lot from how he wanted us to dictate play to the opposition and how he always demanded the correct running lines.
I remember playing against Andy when I was younger, and he was at Saracens, and talking to him about his son coming through. From playing against Andy, and appreciating how determined and focused and competitive he was, you knew that the apple would not fall far from the tree when it came to Owen.
During the 2015 Six Nations and in the Rugby World Cup camp, even though I was mostly playing at full-back, you could tell that Andy had a wealth of knowledge and a feel for rugby. That was always going to transfer nicely across to Owen.
Playing against Owen, you see him getting on to his boys. He probably leads in more of a Kobe Bryant sense – his team. But because Owen trains at such a high standard, and does not drop off, he can demand those standards from others.
That is a vital part of being a fly-half, and something I learnt from Alex King at Wasps when I was coming through.
Owen loves a challenge – he is supremely competitive – and is versatile as well, with that ability to play 10 or 12. When I played with him for England in South Africa last summer, he was at 12 and was a great second pair of ears and eyes.
We spoke after that game, the third Test in Cape Town, and he showed me the tweet from Andy Goode with the video of Owen’s exasperated reaction to my kick for Jonny May’s try near the end. I just thought: “I’m sure your body language changed when the try was scored.”
I know that became a thing at the time, but situations like that just happen sometimes.
If you call for the ball and you don’t get it, there is that feeling of frustration, especially when you think it is the wrong decision. He might not have seen Jonny on the paint. I do know that he would not have been reacting to me as a person, he would have been reacting to what he thought the outcome would have been. As the outcome was good, he would have been happy.
It is like when a team goes right from a midfield scrum. The man on the left always throws his hands up. It is what it is. All I know is that I have always got on well with Owen. People want to read into whatever they want to read into.
There are a band of fly-halves – Beauden Barrett, Johnny Sexton and Owen – who you would say are the top three in the world. If you had all of them at your disposal, you would probably pick a different one according to your game plan.
All of them are close to being complete players. Beauden’s defence is underrated. Owen’s skill set is underrated and Johnny’s carrying ability is probably underrated. They can all do everything.
They are also all great leaders in their own way. When you are trying to lead a team, there will always be times when friction comes. But one thing my mentor Steve Black says to me is: “You know who needs an arm around them? Everyone.”
He is right. Everyone needs confidence, to get bigged up – everyone plays better and feels better after that.
You do have to ask yourself: “How can I get a different message across to someone if they’re not reacting to what I’m saying?”
That is part of the growth of your leadership, how you get the best out of players. When I finish, I certainly hope players think: “You know what, I always played better with Danny. As a 10, he made me play better.”
That has to mean giving someone some truth in what I see. You do not tell someone they are the greatest in the world at something if they are not.
You give them truth. When someone is trying to give you a compliment or a work-on or even making a comment on you, you don’t intrinsically feel what they are saying unless it is authentic.
If I am saying something to a team-mate, it needs to be my truth. As humans, we switch off if we don’t think someone is being authentic. But if someone says something to you and it feels right, if you think it comes from their gut whether it is negative or positive, you know that person is delivering truth.
So you listen properly. I try to operate in that way. And, hopefully, that brings out the best in people.