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'Abyss of dismay': Owen Farrell branded a Top 14 transfer flop

Owen Farrell in action for Racing 92 in October (Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images)

Former England skipper Owen Farrell has been branded a Top 14 transfer flop after failing to impress during his first five months in France . The 33-year-old left Saracens to take up a two-year deal at Racing 92, but the first part of his Parisian stay hasn’t resulted in him shooting out the lights – according to Midi Olympique, the French rugby newspaper.

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Currently injured following a November operation to mend a groin problem, Farrell made eight appearances for Stuart Lancaster’s side before being sidelined. He has now been described as the 2024/25 season’s number one transfer disappointment.

Midi Olympique wrote : “What does Owen Farrell represent? A world of his own: 112 caps and 1,237 points scored with England, six Premiership titles and three Champions Cup titles.

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Paul Gustard on potential “signing of the season” Owen Farrell

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    Paul Gustard on potential “signing of the season” Owen Farrell

    Coach Paul Gustard is full of praise for Racing 92 signing Owen Farrell

    “The moment the former Saracens playmaker set foot in the Top 14, we were convinced that Racing would have the face of a French champion this year. And then? Disappointment is always proportional to the admiration we feel, Farrell’s more than neutral performances quickly plunged us into an abyss of dismay.

    “He is certainly aggressive in the tackle but too slow in the offensive animation and, despite his pedigree, preferred to leave the penalty shootout to Nolann Le Garrec.

    “In Hauts-de-Seine, however, it is said that Farrell, recently operated on for a groin, only owed his poor form to this injury and that he will show a completely different face upon his return, on January 18 against the Stormers.”

    Other players to feature in Midi’s top 10 list of transfer flops included at No3 Toulon’s Antoine Frisch, the French midfielder signed from Munster, at No4 Pau’s Harry Williams, the English prop signed from Montpellier, and at No8 Clermont’s Michael Alaalatoa, the prop signed from Leinster.

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    The assessment on Frisch claimed he “has not yet kept the promises” born from his recruitment. “The native of Fontainebleau does not have enough influence on the Var game and is too timid with the ball in hand to make a real difference on an individual level.”

    Switching to ex-England front-rower Williams, he said: “Harry Williams had a difficult first year in France with Montpellier and he arrived at Pau with the desire to show that it was just a sum of misunderstandings… but he has still not found his level of play from Exeter, which is more than frustrating.”

    Alaalatoa, meanwhile, was criticised over Regis Montagne and Christian Ojovan getting more game time than him at Clermont.

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    Comments

    11 Comments
    S
    SK 86 days ago

    Im sure he will make an impact at some point but they have to play to his strengths to get the best out of him

    B
    BM 87 days ago

    I think the only thing Racing management can be applauded for is consistency at “putting down” their star recruits. Thought they were petty with Siya last season and now they’re onto Farrell. Common denominator? You do the math 🧮

    b
    bd 87 days ago

    Siya had a similar review pre exit, doing well since. Could be the something else.

    B
    Bull Shark 87 days ago

    Fat and transparent?

    H
    HU 88 days ago

    Paris seems to be a difficult place for proven rugby greats .... Siya last year, Owen this season ..... not sure what the issue is, but Siya has been at his best (for the Boks at least ...) since moving away from Racing, which proves at least that it's perhaps not the players alone to blame

    S
    Soliloquin 88 days ago

    It wasn’t for Carter, Rokocoko, Beale, Zebo or Nakawara, even for Tuisova or Fickou now, although it’s easier for them (Top14 knowledge or French).

    And Finn Russell’s genius arose in Paris.

    Whereas Sexton or Woki dropped down.

    The team seems to be more of the issue, the coaching method (with Lancaster’s son potentially creating nepotistic frustration) and the role of Laurent Travers was not clear in the organization.

    With still Le Garrec outshining everyone.

    J
    J Marc 88 days ago

    Farell is not the greatest flop, he is injured currently, he was a ghost since the begining of the season, but the greatest flop, even anybody was waiting for a miracle, is the coach son, who play every game and is abyssal every time.

    T
    Tom 88 days ago

    "He is certainly aggressive in the tackle but too slow in the offensive animation" this is exactly what you get with Farrell, surely this can't be a surprise?


    Passionate leader, aggressive defender, excellent kicker, zero running threat, can't draw defenders, constantly squanders attacking ball with speculative kicks because he can't run or draw defenders, has only ever performed in teams with dominant packs.

    D
    DC 88 days ago

    To top that off,he is a bit of a rugby thug,having gotten away with more dangerous tackles than i care to remember

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    JW 1 hour ago
    Razor has an about turn on All Blacks eligibility rules

    Yep, another problem!


    I think he would have, in the instance I mentioned, which wasn’t changing anything other than correctly applying todays eligibility quidelines. Which is an arbitrary construct, as the deal likely would have played out completely differently, but I just ‘allowed’ him to have 1 year sabbatically for his ‘loyalty’, rather than having some arbitrary number like 70 caps required.


    So if Richie had a 3 year deal, and the first year he was allowed to use him still, I don’t think he’d really not transition to Dmac being his main 10, as he’s obviously the only one he can use for the following two years, therefore likely his only real option for the WC (very hard for Richie to overtake him in such a short time). Richie would purely be a security net in a situation like I proposition where there are only small changes to the eligibility.


    The system is not working well enough though, as we don’t have the Rugby Championship or World Cup trophies, do we? Well on that last question, that’s all I’m really saying but I would not believe a word this author says, so it’s entirely a ‘what if’ discussion, but if the author is right and now they are actually going to be more flexible, I think that’s great yeah. Ultimately thought I think those two players were an anomaly signing their contracts and futures up so far ahead, especially of when they were performing. Both jumped at the opportunity of good contracts when their All Black prospects weren’t looking that bright.

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