Ex-England captain Will Carling leaps to the defence of Owen Farrell on Twitter
In light of England’s unprecedented collapse against Scotland on Saturday, and indeed their Six Nations as a whole, captain Owen Farrell has come under a lot of criticism from fans on social media for his leadership.
England let a staggering 31 point lead slip against Scotland in the final round of the Championship to draw 38-38, as well as losing a 10-3 lead against Wales earlier on in the Championship. In both of those performances, Farrell was heavily criticised by fans for losing control of the game.
The Saracen was taken off by Jones against Scotland, but many are saying that he lacks the leadership skills to help England out of these situations that they have found themselves in too often. There has been a noticeable drop in England’s performance and discipline at times when they have encountered pressure this Championship, which is alarming some.
The 27-year-old has been deputising for the injured Dylan Hartley this Championship, and many fans are calling for the Northampton hooker to return to his role, to allow Farrell to focus on his game.
Likewise, George Kruis, Joe Launchbury and Maro Itoje are other names that are being mentioned by fans as possible captains.
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In response to the growing concern amongst fans on Twitter, former England captain Will Carling has said that there is no need to panic, and lesson will be learned.
Agree with Sir CW – not the time/ no need to panic. England lost their last games in 1999,2000,2001 & lost in 2002. So plenty of lessons learnt. Became Champions! Yes this team need to learn, & quickly, but do believe it is possible. The array of talent is not in doubt!!
— Will Carling (@willcarling) March 17, 2019
Carling has been working with England as a leadership consultant, and having captained England 59 times, this is an area with which he has a lot of experience.
However, there was a backlash following these comments from many fans, with England’s lack of leadership on the field being highlighted again. Carling responded once again, saying he has “no doubt that [Farrell] will become outstanding as a leader”.
This must be a joke reply? Farrell has no RL background? Of course! And the man is a superb rugby player & is developing into a bloody good captain. We all need time, experience and painful experiences to grow & develop – I have no doubt he will become outstanding as a leader
— Will Carling (@willcarling) March 18, 2019
While there are some that are critical of Farrell’s ability, the majority feel that he is still a great player, particularly as he was being touted as the form player on the planet at the beginning of the Championship. However, it is clear that many feel the burden of being England’s playmaker, kicker and captain is weighing too heavily on the 70-cap international.
This looks like it will be a critical topic amongst England fans leading up to the World Cup in the Autumn, but Carling has shown that Farrell still has the backing from the England camp.
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments