FEATURE: Consummate pro Farrell's mission is to beat the Sharks but he's no villain

When Owen Farrell was part of the youthful Saracens squad that set up camp in Durban for a week before the start of the new season, the former England captain and veteran of four British and Irish Lions tours was in an environment he was no stranger to.

However, when the 34-year-old steps out onto the Hollywoodbets Kings Park field in Saturday’s second round Investec Champions Cup pool clash with the Hollywoodbets Sharks, he will be going where he hasn’t been before - playing a summer game in the sub-tropics.

“It’s lovely being here now, it’s a great part of the world with it being near the coast and the weather is fantastic at this time of the year. I can’t believe it is just the start of Spring,” said Saracens during an interview conducted back in that first week of September at the Saracens team hotel in Umhlanga Rocks.

“I know this area quite well. We didn’t play a test match in Durban on the 2018 tour, but we did base ourselves here for the duration of that tour and traveled to the test matches. We were in this hotel on my first tour with England, my first summer tour, back in 2012.

“But I know that the weather and the conditions will be very different when we come back in December for our Champions Cup game. That will be the height of summer and we will be playing in conditions many of us haven’t experienced before. I have played in Hong Kong, but that was a long time ago.

“I imagine it will be quite similar to there. The humidity and all the sweat won’t only make it uncomfortable for the players but it will also turn it into a wet weather game (due to the ball being slippery).”

NO SPECIAL PREP FOR PLAYING AT KINGS PARK

Farrell didn’t play when Saracens beat a Sharks XV, coming from behind to do so, at Kings Park back on that first Friday in September.

Instead he watched from the stands as some of the younger players who might be used in the Champions Cup game made use of what should have been a good acclimatisation opportunity.

Did Farrell miss out by not playing? Maybe, but also maybe not.

“The only time I have played there (Kings Park) was on that first tour I did here with England but that was a long time ago. What I remember about that test match was that it was a tough one for us. I had made my England debut not long before that and it was my first summer tour. The results weren’t the best.

“I don’t have a strong recollection of Kings Park, but then every time you turn up at a venue it is often different. You can go to a captain’s run at a stadium the night before the game and the wind is blowing one way and then the next day it is blowing in another direction and all the wind movements and angles you may have thought about go out the window.”

RELISHES THE CHALLENGE OF PLAYING IN SA

Farrell has only been to South Africa once before to play a Champions Cup game for Saracens, and that was in Pretoria two years ago when they lost in the opening weekend of the competition.

“It is tough playing against South African teams, particularly because you are going from the middle of our winter to the middle of their summer,” said Farrell.

“But it is what it is. It is a challenge, and it is to overcome challenges that you play this sport. The best thing you can do when there are variables that come into play is find a way to deal with them. We struggled against the Bulls at altitude a few years ago. Now we will have to deal with something different to the altitude, we will also have the humidity to contend with.

“And we also know that the Sharks will be prioritising the game against us. They are likely to be at full strength and they are a strong side when the top players are playing. So it is going to be a big, big game.”


Farrell is a man South African fans love to hate, possibly because of memories of the controversial end to a Bok test against England at Twickenham a few years ago when he appeared to tackle Andre Esterhuizen, who will be earning his 100th cap for the Sharks in opposition to Farrell on Saturday, high and late in the last move of the game and wasn’t penalised or sanctioned.

HIGH DEGREE OF MUTUAL RESPECT

However, those South Africans who have played with Farrell, and there have been many who have done so at Saracens, speak of a highly driven, consummate professional.

My own impression from interviewing him is that he may be a bit shy, which often leads to someone being misunderstood.

But from his fellow players the only criticism has been that he is a rugby obsessive and constantly wants to talk about it, even when everyone is trying to get some down time.

It appears there is a lot of mutual respect. Not only on an individual basis, but also respect from Farrell for South Africans.

“I would hope I have learnt a lot from South Africans, and I would hope they in return might have learnt something from me,” he grinned.

“I have spent a lot of time with people from here. Brad Barritt, who is a good mate and played with me for Saracens and England, is from here (Durban), and of course there has been a very strong Saracens affiliation with South Africa from the time that Brendan Venter had such an influence from within the coaching group.

“There was Neil de Kock, who played scrumhalf for Saracens for a long time, and others from even before that era. South Africans and South Africa are a big part of rugby, and I think we are very appreciative of what the top, top South African players bring to the sport. They are great for the game and when they play for Premiership clubs they are also definitely great for the Premiership.

“I think there is a lot of mutual respect between rugby players in general, once the final whistle has gone. And I think that is across the park - not just between South Africans and English players, but I think between players who play at this level of the game everywhere. But we obviously do know South Africa are a top team, and there is a huge respect that comes with that.”

ENJOYING LIFE AND RUGBY AGAIN BACK AT SARACENS

Farrell is just happy to be back at Saracens after an injury plagued year at the French club, Racing 92, but while it is not an overriding goal, he says he would play for England again if he was called upon to by coach Steve Borthwick.

“My focus is here (Saracens) right now, I want to get back to enjoying my rugby, enjoying my time playing the game and just getting back to myself because last year was an indifferent year with injuries. Who knows what comes later.”

In other words play your best and the rest might take care of itself, although it does appear England have moved on with their trio of flyhalves in George Ford, Finn Smith and Marcus Smith.

What is almost certain judging from how he was able to pick up almost from where he left off at international level when he was sent an SOS by the British and Irish Lions to come to Australia earlier this year, is that if he was called upon he wouldn’t exactly be a fish out of water.

“It wasn’t that challenging because I have played a lot of international rugby so have experience of it and know what to expect,” he said when it was put to him that he had done well to step into international rugby as a replacement for the Lions when he hadn’t played an international game since the last Rugby World Cup in France.

“Don’t misunderstand me, I am not arrogant enough to think I could just walk into anywhere and be the right fit. But I had played a fair amount of test rugby so I wasn’t inexperienced in that department. That is different to saying I could just walk into any team. It isn’t you who picks yourself but other people who pick you.

“It obviously did help though that I had experience behind me, and when the call came I was confident because my body was right for the first time in a long time.”

IN GOOD FORM

Farrell’s body appears to be holding up well as he has been playing well for Saracens, including in the big 47-10 win with which Saracens opened their Champions Cup campaign against Clermont-Auvergne last weekend.

It was on the cards back in September that Farrell would fit seamlessly back in as he was thriving on being back in the setup of the club he considers his home.

“I was away for a year so being back everything feels a little bit fresher while also feeling familiar. I am happy here. It feels both a long time and a short time that I have been away, if you know what I mean. In the sense that there are new things, which is exciting and makes it different, but there are also some familiar things that make it feel like you’ve never been away.

I am enjoying focusing on the club and am enjoying building new relationships while also re-establishing old ones. I am happy with the way my career has gone. I really enjoyed the Lions tour. It was a successful one for us and also very enjoyable. It was a successful time for me off the back of what for me had been a very indifferent season.”

WANTS TO COACH AFTER PLAYING DAYS ARE DONE

Farrell made no mention of when he wants to stop playing, but what has become clear to him is that, just like his father Andy, who coached the Lions in Australia and coaches Ireland as his day job, he will want to stay in rugby in a coaching role when he does stop playing.

Indeed, the Saracens officials who accompanied the squad to KZN back in early September reckon he has already become a bit of a player-coach with his mentorship of the youngsters.

“I wouldn’t say I feel it is my responsibility to coach the younger players, but I do want to help. I like bouncing ideas off people and seeing what works and what doesn’t work. I have always found the sharing of information helpful, as much for your own development as the others around you,” said Farrell.

“Coaching is a passion. Before I have always worried about saying it, because you never know what is going to happen. You never know what direction life might take you. But I am comfortable saying it now. I would like to coach when my playing career is over. I enjoy not just figuring out things for myself when it comes to rugby, but also for teams and for the people around me.”

Some years back, when the new equity partners first came in to make the Sharks a wealthy franchise in financial terms, a dinner conversation between coaches from another club/franchise and some of us rugby writers switched to what type of player the Sharks should be recruiting.

“Someone like Owen Farrell, who could do the kind of job Tony Brown did when he played for the Sharks and who also has a strong hatred of losing,” was one of the suggestions on how the Sharks should spend their money.

HE’S OPEN TO ANY POSSIBILITIES

With Farrell not likely to be called up by England again, he would indeed be a perfect recruit for the Sharks, who could do with his game-driving ability in the pivot position, possibly mentoring Jordan Hendrikse and the other young Sharks flyhalves, as well as his growing role as a coach.

Of course, he appears far too valuable to Saracens to imagine them letting him go, and he is already becoming a player-coach at the club, but there is a good relationship between the Sharks and Saracens and a sabbatical combined with his transition to a coaching role in the South African sun might just be of mutual benefit to Farrell and Saturday’s opponents.

“You never know, a sabbatical somewhere could be very helpful to you if you want to grow yourself into a coaching role,” he said.

“Saracens is my home. I have been away for a year and have now come back, but there are always different experiences to be had that can grow you. Never mind sabbaticals, every time you tour somewhere there is an opportunity for you to see a different environment for yourself, to assess what makes others tick and what might make them successful.

“It’s not just about experiencing different teams but also different cultures and different countries. Different ways of doing things. But I really haven’t thought that far ahead,” added Farrell with a grin.