MCCAW SAYS FARRELL IS DAN-DASTIC
KIWI legend Richie Mccaw fears the Lions have unearthed a Dan Carter of their own – and that spells bad news for the All Blacks this summer.
Double World Cup-winning skipper Mccaw reckons Owen Farrell really reminds him of Carter – who ran riot against the Lions last time they toured New Zealand in 2005 and were thrashed 3-0.
Mccaw, who retired in 2015, saw England equal the All Blacks’ record of 18 Test match wins on the spin –with Farrell pulling the strings.
And the Saracens star is a certainty to be named in the Lions’ squad when head coach Warren Gatland announces his party on Wednesday.
Mccaw sees growing similarities between Farrell and Carter – regarded as one of the finest 10’s ever to play the game.
Mccaw said: “Farrell just looks a lot more comfortable directing things, and has been given that better service. Where Eddie Jones has been good is he has given them a bit of confidence in how they want to do things.
“Dan Carter played No.12 until six months before the Lions, and he swapped to 10. He wasn’t just a kicker he had everything to his game – a real threat – that is what changed things.
“On defence he was pretty good at what he did, his running game was good and his kicking. You had players over the years who had two out of three, or three out of four of those things but Dan pretty much had a good handle on all of that.
“Guys that can think, ‘I can kick the ball or I can kick the ball there’ – look like they have got plenty of time and that is what I saw with Farrell. He looked like he had a lot more time.
“His confidence has grown – like [Kiwi No.10] Beauden Barrett’s – and he’s starting to believe in his ability, and directing things damn well.”