England teammate says kicking god Wilkinson shaped Farrell in his own image and now he's 'a talent you very rarely see'
Jonny Wilkinson, the greatest kicker in English rugby history, has helped turn Owen Farrell into the biggest threat to New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday.
With the All Blacks determined to impose their hi-octane attacking rugby on England at Twickenham, Farrell will be tasked with punishing the World’s top-ranked team from the tee and putting them into reverse with kicking skills honed under Wilkinson’s tuition.
Farrell, who has scored 699 points in 62 tests for his country, will attempt to repeat the victory he celebrated in 2012 when England dramatically ended the All Blacks 20 game unbeaten run with a remarkable 38-21 triumph.
However, that is the only England win in the last 15 matches with the All Blacks to highlight the enormity of the task at Twickenham on Saturday where Farrell’s kicking will carry the hopes of the entire country.
Wilkinson had to deal with exactly the same kind of pressure during his World Cup winning career and the man who scored a remarkable 1,246 points – putting him second to Dan Carter – helps Farrell with his kicking as a part-time member of the England coaching staff. Alex Goode, the England and Saracens fullback, was also in the team that defeated the All Blacks six years ago and has seen Wilkinson’s input turn 27-year-old Farrell into the outstanding kicker in the sport.
Goode explained: “Owen has a very big talent and knows exactly what he wants to achieve and is able to deliver the full range of kicks under pressure.
“Owen and Jonny have come out of the same mould in terms of perfection and trying to improve. Owen does a lot of work with Jonny and it is no surprise to see how good his kicking has become.
“The work he does with Jonny has given Owen real precision with his kicking and he is constantly practising so that he knows exactly where that ball is going to land.
“I don’t think I have ever come across someone who, without question, improves with his goalkicking when the pressure gets even more intense.
“That final kick against South Africa last Saturday from the touchline is a great example and it is a talent you very rarely see. I beat him in a kicking contest at the club but there is no way I would beat him in a game situation because he goes to a different level and that is his mentality. He didn’t care about beating me!”
Saracens kick-chase is unmatched in the Northern Hemisphere and Farrell’s ability to give the ball crucial hang-time and land it just outside the opposition 22 will have been forensically studied by the All Blacks in their tactical meetings this week in London. With the All Blacks possessing the best counter-attacking threat in test rugby, delivering a flawless kicking game will be vital and Goode added: “Owen has the ability to punch the ball one bounce into corners, put the high balls up and also deliver the short kicks, the kind you see in rugby league.
“It’s not that Owen gets more hang time than anyone else, it’s that he has a very specific target in mind and he can hit it nine times out of ten within a yard. He gives the chaser the best chance of getting the ball back.”
All Black Ben Smith is a brilliantly balanced counter-attack runner and will be eager to punish any loose kicks that come his way. He said: “Territory is a big part of the way they play and their kicking game allows them to do that so we are going to have to have good plans around how we defuse that and we will go from there.
“We’ll get our chance when we’re kicking the ball to get it back, so it’s all about making the most of our opportunities. We know we are going to have to put in a bit of work on that this week and I think it’s an awesome challenge for us as a back unit to see how we go in that department.
“Obviously if they’re not quite on the money then we’re going to have a plan and it does open up an opportunity if we’re smart so we have to make sure we’re all aligned. It’s a big challenge for us for this week because it’s a big part of their game to nail it so they can get into their game at the right end of the field.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
154 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
173 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
173 Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
3 Go to commentsI’ve read loads of nonsense before but this article takes the cake. Or perhaps someone changed the date for April Fool's Day.
3 Go to commentsReally Rugbypass? Ben Smith I think you forgot what the Springboks did to the All Blacks at Twickenham 8 weeks earlier? Springboks 35 All Blacks 7. There is alot of ifs and buts in your article. The All Blacks threw the sink at the Springboks and unfortunately they were not good enough regardless if they played with 14 men or not. It was the Springboks who forced the All Blacks to make mistakes! Sorry but not Sorry the Springboks is the best ever Rugby World Cup Nation in the world. 4 Cups baby!
173 Go to commentsYou just backed the Boks with that fantastic review! Well done! Have some cake!
173 Go to commentsBen Smith please write up something better than this. The Springboks would have won the world cup if you were 15 men on the field. They would have found a way, they always find a way to beat the All Blacks.
173 Go to commentsWow, there is a lot of “could have” and “ should have” in this waist of time dribble. I love the desperation in this story to search for a glimpse at a silver lining. Here are the facts, NZ was a badly coached and undisciplined shadow of their former glory. They never took the lead in a game they were never going to win.
173 Go to commentsGOTTA MAKE ‘THE GEORGE’ HAPPEN!!!! That’s a great idea! A trans Tasman midget battle on ANZAC Day. I don’t think the ABs Wallabies game should be a one off winner takes all though, just the first match with the other two later in the year with the RC. Reason being, no one will ever shut up about how aussies couldn’t win it when it was a 3 match series.
3 Go to comments@Ben smith. Thats knock out rugby. So honeslty who cares?
173 Go to commentsIt will interesting to know which Irish players said that…
2 Go to commentsNaaaww boys will be boys! Now run along ya wee scamp! Don’t let us catch you at again😏
1 Go to commentsGreat to have Ethan Blackadder back in the Crusaders in the last few weeks. One of the best all round loose forwards around. He played so well last week against the Rebels. Fantastic attitude Ethan has and his comments are spot on.
2 Go to commentsThe author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
173 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
173 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
173 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
173 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
173 Go to comments