Owen ready to connect in Dublin
ENGLAND captain Owen Farrell passed an unusual fitness test and struck a blow against favourites Ireland at the Six Nations launch in London yesterday with a Connect 4 triumph over counterpart Rory Best.
As workouts for the thumb on which Farrell underwent an operation on Saturday, the two games at the Hurlingham Club were admittedly low in intensity, but an absence of strapping or any obvious discomfort bodes well for his involvement in Dublin a week on Saturday. Without guaranteeing he will make the game, Farrell is confident he will be there.
“It’s fine,” he said of the thumb. “I’m hoping to train at the end of this week so I should be good. I was always told it would be quick and that there was a short turnaround.
“I needed it done – it’s something that has built up over time – but it was only something small. It’s a little thing done to my thumb tendon that releases a bit of pressure off it.
“I’m looking forward to the Six Nations and looking forward to the first game. It’s a massive one.”
Johnny Sexton is also winning his battle to be fit after being sidelined for Leinster’s last two games with knee trouble. It looks like both sides will have their premier playmakers available which is just what the tournament needs on its opening weekend.
In World Cup year there could be a danger of sides keeping their powder dry for the bigger event. But there seemed an across-the-board desire yesterday for a tournament that has new sponsors in Guinness, who have signed a six-year deal, to remain a significant entity in its own right.
The Ireland-England clash in round one, pitting together last season’s champions with the fallen idols of the previous two years, provides an eyecatching start.
“Mammoth” was how Ireland coach Joe Schmidt described it, although he could easily have been referencing the options at Eddie Jones’s disposal, with the Vunipola brothers back and Manu Tuilagi, Ben Te’o and Joe Cokanasiga competing for backline places.
Ireland think they know what is coming from England – the hammer.
“Eddie said recently that if you want to go to Ireland and get a win you’re going to have to deliver brutality, so I think we’re pretty well primed,” said Schmidt. “England have really good firepower to deliver it. Other teams might be a little more subtle.”
Jones acknowledged there would be a physical element but he was not about to reveal his hand just yet.
“I’ve never seen a Six Nations game that doesn’t have that brutality,” he said. “But there’s two contests against Ireland, one in the air and one on the ground, and we’ve got to win both of those to win the game. We’ll pick a side that can win those battles. Whether they’re big and ugly or small and cute I don’t know yet.”
England go into the championship on the rebound after last season’s campaign when they trailed in fifth.
“You learn from it,” said Jones. “When you lose it’s painful. The coaching staff and players all want to be at their best and when you’re not it hurts.
“The main thing is that you stay focused, you work out how you can be better and I think we’ve done a great job at that. We’ve changed our staff, we’ve changed the way we train, we’ve changed in little ways our philosophy of how we want to play.
“We’re getting close to having the clarity we need to be the best team in the world. And that’s what we’ve always said we wanted to be. We’re not quite there but we’ll get there.”