Mark McCall slams 'shameful' negative narrative about Owen Farrell
Saracens boss Mark McCall conducted a near 20-minute media briefing on Thursday to shed some light on why Owen Farrell has decided to make himself unavailable for England selection for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
It was at 3pm on Wednesday when a brief statement by the London club revealed the shocking news that the 32-year-old was taking a break from international rugby so that he and his family could mentally refresh after a challenging time which included him being regularly booed by the crowd at the recent Rugby World Cup.
Suspended for the opening two matches of that tournament following a Summer Nations Series red card versus Wales that was punished by a four-game ban, Farrell returned to lead Steve Borthwick team’s to within a whisker of reaching the World Cup final, eventual winners South Africa needing a last-gasp penalty to clinch their semi-final win.
Having attended the end-of-tournament World Rugby 2023 awards function in Paris in a solo capacity two nights after England defeated Argentina in the bronze final, Farrell has since returned to the Gallagher Premiership and has played in three Saracens wins in recent weeks.
However, it has now emerged that he won’t be playing for England when they begin their Six Nations with a February 3 assignment away to Italy and McCall, the Saracens director of role, has now told an online media briefing that there is no guarantee that Farrell will eventually made a Test-playing return.
The blunt message Mark McCall delivered on Thursday about mainstream and social media in the wake of the decision by England skipper Owen Farrell to take a Test rugby sabbatical. #EnglandRugby #GallagherPrem #Saracens pic.twitter.com/1LpQfHBByo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 30, 2023
Speaking to an audience of around 20 journalists for close to 20 minutes on Thursday afternoon ahead of Saracens’ home game this Saturday versus Northampton, McCall said about Farrell’s potential post-Six Nations England return: “It’s hard to think that far ahead. His happiness and his well-being is paramount.
“If that in time involves him going back to play international rugby, so be it. He has got nothing to prove, has he? I don’t know how many caps he ended up on, 108, 110 caps, captain of England, and that wasn’t enough for some people.
“He was made to feel the way that he has been feeling so if he wants to after a break go back to international rugby and it is something that he enjoys and loves, then go for it. But if he chooses that he doesn’t miss that in six months, well then we will support that as well.
“Certainly I didn’t try to persuade him not to change his decision or anything like that and I’m pretty sure Steve (Borthwick) didn’t either,” added McCall about the recent discussions with Farrell in the lead-up to Wednesday’s announcement.
Grasping the nettle as to why Farrell believes he needs to step away from England to mentally refresh, McCall pointed the finger of blame at the mainstream media, a narrative that was followed by what he described as a social media pile-on.
“All I am saying is that social media, we have absolutely zero control over. Zero. But for me, this began in the mainstream media and the narrative that was created around Owen. Not from everybody and not from everybody on this call, but that is what happened.
“Everyone will somewhere in their heads agree with that and then it was a pile-on on social media, but it was created on the mainstream, so maybe there is some in your industry who need to look at themselves.
“Down the years he has probably been made to feel that he has done something much worse than he has actually done at various times if you know what I mean, and that every single little thing that has been picked up and scrutinised to a level which doesn’t happen with most other players.
“You might say, ‘Well, he is the England captain’. I’m still not sure of other England captains in other sports or whatever who have faced the level of scrutiny. Very rarely is it positive and we are talking about somebody I would consider to be a model professional, somebody who cares deeply about what he does, somebody who cares deeply about the people that he does it with.
“He has been portrayed in a way that doesn’t fit the person that people close to him know and we have ended up where we have ended up… I haven’t thought enough about this call to go back and reflect on when that negativity towards him began. It probably began before he was ever sent off for anything to be honest, so there has always been just an unfair narrative I would say and I don’t know why that is.
“I have worked with Owen for 15 years, worked every day with him for the last 15 years, and I don’t know if the person that is being portrayed in the media bears any resemblance to the person that I know. First and foremost he is a family man. His family have always come first and on top of that, he is a brilliant, caring, supportive teammate and a loyal friend to many. Just a thoroughly good, decent human being and that’s the person that I know.”
Despite this negativity surrounding Farrell, his form came to the boil at France 2023 and McCall described it as remarkable in the circumstances that the out-half performed so well. “It’s actually quite remarkable that he played the way that he played during the World Cup if we take into account how he was feeling. Amazing, incredible really.
“So you have got a person who is probably right on top of his game at the moment, probably the best he has ever been playing, yet he has been made to feel the way that he feels and his family have been made to feel the way that they feel and it’s shameful really.
“Like I said, his happiness and his well-being are paramount and the happiness and well-being of his family are paramount and any decisions that allow that to happen, that is the most important thing. Whether that involves him playing international rugby or not remains to be seen.
“I don’t think it’s a physical thing with him and I don’t think it was the emotional toll of playing a lot which has created this. Something completely different has created how he has been feeling so we’ll see.
“Certainly we need to make sure that we are checking all the time with him. As Steve said yesterday [Wednesday], it’s incredibly brave and courageous of him to open up in the way that he has. Not just to us at the club and other people in England but really to the world as well. So I admire him for many, many reasons anyway, but I admire him even more for doing this.
"That wasn't enough for some people and he was made to feel the way that he is feeling…"
– Mark McCall sheds light on the decision by England skipper Owen Farrell to take a Test rugby sabbatical. #EnglandRugby #GallagherPrem #Saracens pic.twitter.com/zZmucSnnkk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 30, 2023
“It’s not right [the negative narrative]. A lot of these questions you would have to address towards Owen in due course. I can’t tell you why he feels the way that he feels but certainly his happiness and his well-being and his family’s well-being is the most important thing of all and any decisions that are taken going forward, he will have the full support of the club like he always has.”
Farrell’s decision to take an international break follows the early November decision of World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes to retire, stating that he and his family were fed up with the level of abuse. McCall suggested something needed to be done to combat what was happening.
“There is probably a wake-up call for all concerned because there is absolutely no way a referee should face what Wayne faced and there is no way a player, a person like Owen should face what he has faced probably over a much longer period of time than Wayne, to be honest.”
About this weekend’s latest Premiership, McCall added that a decision on Farrell’s availability won’t be taken until Friday as he was still carrying a knock from last weekend’s home win over Bristol.
“Owen got a bang on the knee last weekend and so we will determine whether he plays this weekend or we save him for the Bulls next weekend. We will make that decision tomorrow.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Can’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to comments