Young Farrell's recipe for success
England’s 20-year-old inside back Owen Farrell will approach the step up to Test rugby with the same blueprint that saw him take so well to the Premiership in his debut season – work hard and learn fast.
Andy Farrell’s prodigiously talented son first announced himself as a star for the future when he became the youngest ever player to play professional rugby in England by running out for Saracens as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in 2008.
Last season Farrell got the opportunity to start regularly for Saracens and he impressed many with his composure under pressure as he guided his team to Premiership glory, scoring 17 points in the pressure cauldron of the final against defending champions Leicester.
After finding his feet so quickly at Premiership level, Farrell will have to show he can make a similarly smooth transition and run with the best in the game when he makes his anticipated Test debut in the Six Nations next month.
The young star revealed how he went about playing what was a dream season last year in an interview with this website at the new Stellenbosch Academy of Sport.
“I found out that I could cope with it but at the same time I had a lot to learn and I was willing to get my head down and work hard and try and learn quickly.
“It was a good year for me last year, I enjoyed every minute of it. I was really enjoying my rugby learning at such a high level,” he said.
Far from being daunted about the prospect of mixing it with the best players in Europe in the Six Nations, Farrell is clearly excited about testing himself at the next level and learning as much as he can in the most testing environment possible.
“I’m just really excited to get going. There will obviously be brilliant players from one to 15 in every team we come up against so it is really exciting,” he enthused.
Interim England coach Stuart Lancaster clearly has plenty of confidence in Farrell, who he believes has shown the right temperament to succeed at such a young age.
“I don’t think anyone can gauge what he has achieved,” Lancaster said. “He has achieved going from being an academy player to playing in the Premiership finals and big games. He went to the Under-20 World Cup and he won’t be fazed by it all.
“I have met him a few times and we had a long conversation. He deserves to be in the squad on merit. He has temperament and presence and that is what we are looking for,” added the England caretaker coach.
Although Farrell started his career at flyhalf he has featured regularly at centre for Saracens this season with veteran pivot Charlie Hodgson in the No.10 jersey and the South African-born Brad Barritt either on his outside or his inside.
The change of positions is not something that has Farrell particularly worried, and he is happy to play either, especially if as predicted he gets his chance to play for England alongside the familiar faces of Hodgson and Barritt.
He told this website: “I am happy to slot in wherever I am needed, I am just happy to play in such a good team with brilliant players around me and I am happy to learn playing the game from both positions.
“It is good, I think we [Hodgson, Farrell and Barritt] have got a pretty good partnership going at the moment, we are going well in the league and the Heineken Cup is going well so we know each other inside out now and it is brilliant to have that inside and outside you,” added Farrell.
Many believe that this 20-year-old is the future of English rugby, which is not that hard to believe given his clear talent and determination.
He comes across as having confidence in himself as well as a hunger to learn and test himself against the best, which are vital qualities if he is to make a running start to his Test career.
Given what he has achieved already, his impressive work ethic and the fact that he will have plenty of Saracens teammates around him in the new England set-up, Farrell has a the perfect platform to launch a lengthy career in the white jersey.
By Michael de Vries, in Stellenbosch
