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Eddie Jones: Lack of Farrell appreciation, media overhype Smith
Former England head coach Eddie Jones has told William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan, that Owen Farrell remains underappreciated due to his unemotional and rigid nature.
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The former Wallabies boss, who is in Wales this week to take charge of the Barbarians next Saturday in Cardiff with Scott Roberston, said: “When you look at what Owen Farrell has done within the game, he has won every trophy there is to win other than the World Cup and he has been to the final of that.
“He is the highest point scorer in the history of England rugby and he has been a colossus in the game. Because he can be seen as quite an unemotional and rigid player, he doesn’t get the praise that he should get.
“The most emotional I have seen him was after the World Cup semi-final in 2019 when he said, ‘I am so proud to be English’. You could really feel his passion and his pride and you don’t often get that with him. I think he gets a bit of a hard time for that. I 100 per cent think that there is a lack of appreciation for him.”
Farrell last week skippered England to a bronze medal finish at France 2023 but Jones, who coached England from 2016 through to 2022, said that the combination of Dylan Hartley as captain and Farrell as co-captain was the best leadership combination when he was in charge.
“Dylan Hartley was my first England captain because he was what the team needed at that time,” he said. “They needed to come out of themselves because they had been through a tough period and they had turned into a very respectful and nice team. They needed Dylan to come in and give the team a bit of life, which he did.
“Owen Farrell came in off the back of that and he was much more serious and tough. He was brilliant on the field but off the field, he wasn’t quite as good as Dylan. There are two types of leaders in rugby and if you can get both in your captaincy set-up then you have hit the jackpot.
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“That is what we had. You have got people who are really tough on standards on the field and are obsessed by performance, then you have those who are better at bringing the guys together off the field. When we had Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell as captain and vice-captain it was a great combination.”
Reflecting on the evolution of England in 2023 under new head coach Steve Borthwick, a year in which Marcus Smith lost his role as first-choice No10 and instead went on to start twice at full-back at the World Cup, Jones reckoned: “Marcus Smith is reasonably good at club level but the media make him out to be a superstar.
“He is not a superstar yet, he’s a promising young player. If you look at someone like Richie Mo’unga from New Zealand, he’s 29 now, he’s played 60 or so Tests and he’s an instinctive player. At Test match level, these instinctive players, particularly when they are in high decision-making positions, take time to mature.
“I think we will see over the next two years whether or not Marcus Smith has what it takes to go as far as his potential suggests he can. If he can stick at it for the next two years, he will get through it and these will be the most formative years of his rugby life if he can stick at it and not end up going to play overseas.
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“If he keeps playing for England, then Owen Farrell will be coming to the latter stages of his career, so there will be an opportunity for him to step up and he can be a really, really good Test player.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Starts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
2 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
2 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
3 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
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