Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HE’S JUST TON IT HIS OWEN WAY
England v New Zealand
Saturday, 5.30pm
BY ALEX SPINK
OWEN FARRELL has changed the way English rugby is played and the way the England team thinks.
That was the verdict of Jamie George as team-mates and coaches lined up to hail the influence of just the third Englishman to reach a century of caps.
Farrell hits three figures on Saturday when he captains his country against New Zealand at Twickenham. He does so credited with a profound and lasting influence on the English game.
George said: “Owen has changed the way English rugby has been played, we can genuinely say that. He’s changed the mindset of the team, giving us the belief to play against teams like the All Blacks.
“He’s led the way throughout his 99 caps. There has not been a day
I’ve trained with him where I thought, ‘He’s having an off day’. The way he fights and shows resilience, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
Luke Cowan-dickie said: “There’s an aura about Owen.
“His presence in the team makes you raise your own game another level. When you first come in you maybe feel he’s asking for too much but you come to realise he’s not. What he wants is the best for you and the team.
“I can guarantee his 100th cap won’t change the way he approaches or plays the game. But the rest of us will be going to the next level to try to make it the best experience of his life.”
Farrell has won 68 Tests with England, scoring 1,113 points. He has led his country 36 times, including in the 2019 World Cup final. “Sometimes I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves,” said England boss Eddie Jones.
“When you’re a tough, gritty player like Owen, it’s harder to be liked isn’t it? That’s the reality. He’s combative, he’s very focused about the game and he doesn’t open himself up a lot. The media like people who open themselves up.”
It is exactly those uncompromising qualities that make him so appreciated within the game.
“I always remember him setting the tone with his body language against the haka in 2019,” said All Blacks great Dan Carter.
And England rugby league captain Sam Tomkins rates Farrell “the best rugby league player of the last 10 years and he’s never played a game”.