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'He sees any mistake as a learning as opposed to a loss of face'

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Saracens assistant Kevin Sorrell has explained why unheralded signing Theo McFarland has become such a success for the title-chasing Gallagher Premiership club. The forward recently capped the 23rd appearance of his maiden season in London with a two-try second-half blast versus Northampton. 

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Standing at 6ft 6ins, the 115kg McFarland – who is 26 and has been capped at blindside by Samoa – initially made his mark playing basketball before switching to rugby where he was picked up by Saracens last summer on a long-term deal following a spell with the MLR Dallas Jackals. 

It was only last January when he started the first top-flight match of his career, but the starts have since come thick and fast as there have been eight more in the league and another four in the European Challenge Cup, exposure that has seen him quickly become a fan favourite at the StoneX Arena. 

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Ahead of this Saturday’s trip to Gloucester in the final round of the regular Premiership season before their home semi-final versus Harlequins, Sorrell gave his verdict to RugbyPass on the exciting emergence of McFarland these past few months. 

“It’s brilliant and a lot of it is down to his hard work. He is unbelievably coachable. He is very diligent, he is very perceptive, you sort of tell him something and you see him actively trying to practice it so you can see where his improvements come from because he has a desire to get better and the lads have taken to him massively – so he has slotted in really well for us.”

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Tell us more about those improvements. “I suppose I’d say with regards to attack around his timings, his connections to other individuals. Sometimes people can overrun stuff or get flat or are unaware of who they are taking their timing from but he has worked hard on that in terms of putting himself in good positions so he can be effective. 

“When you sit down with a player you are either trying to reinforce good habits or sort of address an action that you don’t need (as a team),” continued Sorrell, explaining what has made McFarland so coachable at Saracens.

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“When someone is getting told that is not what we want they can be quite defensive towards that but he is not defensive, he is open to that information, he is open to improvement because he sees any sort of mistake as a learning opportunity as opposed to a loss of face on his own part and he is very open to improving.”  

With McFarland now a regular on the Saracens teamsheet, Sorrell has tipped his hat to recruitment boss Nick Kennedy. “A lot of credit has to go to Nick Kennedy because he is our recruitment guy and he did his due diligence on him and thought there was a nice project there for us. He was right.

“I wouldn’t say he [McFarland] shocked us all with his improvement but it has certainly been accelerated from where we thought we would get him to at this stage. It is really pleasing in terms of what he has done for the squad.”

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j
john 39 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 2 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

14 Go to comments
T
Trevor 5 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of 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 comments
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