Goode: I’d make Farrell captain of both England and the Lions
EDDIE Jones may have missed a trick by not giving Owen Farrell the chance to celebrate his 50th cap with the honour of leading England into battle with Italy.
That’s according to former Test fly-half Andy Goode, who claims Dylan Hartley should have been demoted to the bench and Farrell’s Saracens’ teammate Jamie George thrown into the front row at Twickenham today.
Head coach Jones chose to ignore the temptation of giving Hartley a supporting role against the Six Nations’ weakest team, and a side hammered by both Wales and Ireland already, despite the prospect of his side still having to face two much tougher and physical battles against Scotland and Ireland in the coming weeks.
Some felt it would be the perfect chance for Farrell, 25, to get some valuable captaincy experience with him in the box seat to succeed Hartley as leader in the long run and also a favourite for that Lions post in New Zealand.
Goode insists: “If I was Eddie Jones I’d have made Owen captain this weekend and given Hartley a game from the bench because Jamie George is screaming out to get a start the way he’s been playing.
“Owen is one of the two or three best players in the world right now with his consistency and goal kicking and his attacking game has come on no ends in the last 18 months which is one thing he was criticised for.
“He is a dominant character in that team and for him to be compared to Jonny Wilkinson is a great tribute. They probably have the same mentallity in terms of how successful they want to be and how driven they are.”
Goode has joined the growing call for Farrell to be named Lions captain by Warren Gatland this summer. He claims: “The captain has to be guaranteed his place in the team and the second row is so competitive as far as Alun-Wyn Jones is concerned. You have two hookers as Six Nations captains in Rory Best for Ireland and Hartley with England, so you have to look at other options.
“For me Owen is a dead cert to play for the Lions in the first Test, and is also probably the first name on the team sheet.
“He’s so driven week in week out and he’s the sort of guy you want to be your leader.
“I would pick him at flyhalf. He’s doing a fantastic job for England at 12 but there are some brilliant inside centres around who would get picked for a Lions Test. I’d pick Ireland’s Robbie Henshaw there and shift Farrell to 10.”