Farrell told to put own form ahead of captaincy duties
Eddie Jones has revealed that it has taken a pep talk on leadership to help Owen Farrell focus more on himself as a player than on his duties as England captain.
Farrell’s form has been curiously hit-and-miss, with attack coach Scott Wisemantel describing his performance against Argentina as “clunky”. Jones, though, has ultiaustralia mate faith in the man he terms “a warrior”, stating that this newfound balance in Farrell’s game will be of as much benefit to England as was Steve Smith to Australia in the Ashes when he did not have to worry about captaincy issues at all.
“Why was Steve Smith so successful in the Ashes?” Jones said. “One of the reasons was he didn’t have to worry about the bowling team, he didn’t have to worry about setting fields. All he had to worry
about was batting. It’s much simpler when you’re just a player.
“Owen is captain and he’s the goal-kicker. The responsibility of being captain at the World Cup is larger than normal Test matches, because you’re bringing a group of 31 players together for eight or nine weeks. You get all the family issues. You go to the dinner table, one brother is happy, one brother is unhappy. Someone doesn’t know if they are happy or not.
“Owen is the father of that group. His ability to delegate, to know what to say to players, is a challenging experience for a young guy. I felt earlier in the tournament he spent too much time in the captaincy area and not enough on his individual prep, but I’ve seen a change in that this week. Owen is a warrior. He leads from the front, he is tough and that is what we have tried to produce in this team.”
Farrell has the unusual distinction of being the victim in two separate incidents that resulted in red cards for reckless tackles on him, in the games against the United States and Argentina. Farrell did not need a head injury assessment in either match, although he did miss four kicks at goal against the Pumas, his worst streak in more than five years. Whatever has been weighing down on him, he believes that he has found greater equilibrium in the way he goes about his work following the sit-down with Jones.
“A big part of leadership is making sure you perform well,” Farrell said. “Eddie was just checking in on me, making sure I am doing that, not getting caught up in other things. It was probably made easier by the work the others do. There are a good few boys who have a decent feel for this group, for what’s needed, for how we are. So you never feel it’s all on you and it won’t be with these boys, ever.”
Farrell has been friends with George Ford since school, playing with and against him, and there is probably no closer relationship in the squad. He invoked the squad ethos when asked whether he felt any sympathy for Ford after his omission from the side to start against Australia, stating that the team had only just been announced.
There is little doubt that Ford would have read it in the runes during training earlier in the week. Yet Farrell pointed out that the concept of who starts and who is on the bench has taken on a different hue in the modern era. The England captain was at pains to stress that he would not object if he were ever demoted to the bench.
“It would be my role within the team for that week,” Farrell said. “As with everything, the team is the most important thing. You have to do your job for the team itself to do well.”