Farrell game management now paying dividends

Saracens

With less than five minutes left on the clock and leading 27-20, Saracens were awarded a penalty that could have been used to kick for the corner and seal a bonus-point try. Owen Farrell, the captain and flyhalf, instead opted for the more pragmatic choice of kicking for goal, which he duly nailed.

This may not have been the most scintillating moment of a match in which Newcastle were leading 17-3 after 30 minutes thanks to tries from Mike Brown, on his Falcons debut, and centre Ben Stevenson, but it gave a snapshot into how Farrell the leader approaches his game management. And with England’s autumn internationals less than a month away, there is no better time to examine how the 30-year-old does this.

Farrell did not allow himself to get caught up in racing to try to clinch the try – after a late first-half penalty try followed by second-half scores from Jamie George and Mako Vunipola – that Saracens needed to get more than a score ahead. It was a sensible choice, considering how dogged Newcastle had been. Moments later, Saracens’ lead was reduced to seven points thanks to a penalty from Brett Connon.

As the clock finally wound down and a Newcastle comeback looked out of the question, Farrell opted for the kick for the corner and Billy

Vunipola nicked the bonus-point try. It meant that the Falcons, despite their valiant efforts, left north London empty-handed.

During an opening half in which Saracens struggled, Farrell was admonished by referee Ian Tempest for trying to do his job. However, from then on he took a subtle but influential role. The penalties in the second half went Saracens’ way and Dean Richards, the Newcastle director of rugby, complained about Farrell being in Tempest’s ear.

Clear criticism on one hand, but to go from being told off by the referee for being overly vocal to having the opposition complain you are in the referee’s ear shows Farrell’s growing skill at communicating with the referee.