'Maybe we're a bit similar... I have got a lot of respect for him'
Owen Farrell can’t wait to get stuck into his all important play-making battle next Saturday against Johnny Sexton.
The two out-halves, so instrumental in guiding the Lions to their 2017 Test series draw in New Zealand, have become a meaty sub-plot in recent years whiner England have taken on Ireland in the Six Nations.
Now they are set to renew rivalry on the grandest club stage of the all, the Heineken Champions Cup final which will feature Farrell’s Saracens against Sexton’s Leinster in Newcastle.
Rest assured they will become the best of enemies once Jerome Garces blows his whistle to get the eagerly awaited final underway. However, the build-up has allowed an opportunity for Farrell to outline the similar characteristics he shares with Sexton, attributes such as leadership and a ferocious will to win.
“Maybe we’re a bit similar,” admitted Farrell in a BT Sport interview ahead of the decider where they outcome will either be Saracens winning a third title in four seasons or Leinster winning their second in succession.
? The heartbeats, the conductors, the play-makers, the game-breakers ?
Two of the world's best 10's ? with ice running through their veins, @JohnnySexton and @owen_faz come face-to-face?
Glory for @leinsterrugby's talisman? ?
Or another trophy for the @Saracens star? ? pic.twitter.com/syQqnJ1Ts2
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 8, 2019
“You’d have to ask someone else. He’s intelligent in the way that he sees the game. I think he’s very clear in what he’s doing and he’s very good at executing on the back of it. He’s obviously competitive.
“He demands a lot out of the players around him and himself. You can definitely tell that when you play against him. I get on well with him. He’s obviously a brilliant player, as he’s shown for the past however many years. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
Saturday’s showpiece is a rematch of last season’s quarter-final in Dublin where Leinster dethroned Saracens and went on to take their title. That was the London club’s last defeat in Europe and Farrell believes that pain has been an influence in getting them two steps further along the line this season and into a final.
There was a post-training treat waiting for the lads yesterday… ? pic.twitter.com/gPi3urGxDR
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) May 8, 2019
“Defeats make you more open to having a proper look at yourself,” he explained. “As a team that defeat helped us for the rest of the year in many ways. It tightened us up. It made us focus in on things. It made us debate where we were at and where we want to go. You subconsciously become miles more open to looking deeper into what you’re doing and seeing what you can do to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
“It was good for us last year but it’s not something we’re caught up on now it’s not something we’re talking about. From that point on we were a lot clearer, certainly a lot more excited about where we’re heading.
“I guess it [a possible third European title] just adds to the history of what we’re trying to do now. When you look at all these big clubs and all those stars by their name you look at it in admiration and think ‘what a club’.
Leinster have played some beautiful rugby en route to this weekend's Champions Cup final ?pic.twitter.com/jzJFU88Ibs
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) May 8, 2019
“We’ve done pretty well over the past few years but we’re still pretty new to it so we want to keep it going and not take it for granted that we’ve been in a few finals. We want to make sure we make the most out of each opportunity we get and we’ve put ourselves in a good position this year.”
Brad Barritt’s fitness will determine whether Farrell will be skipper for the final. “Since a kid I’ve always been put into those sort of roles. I’ve always been the loudest. I guess that’s why I was always put forward as captain when I was younger. You can’t shut me up when I’m out there.
“Obviously I’m still trying to get better at the leadership side of things. Brad [Barritt] does a brilliant job and we’re getting better and better at being aligned, being on a similar page so we can lead together.
“That’s what you want in most environments… not just one person, you want to have as many people as possible leading. I don’t think there’s anyone here that thinks so much of them self that they think they’re right all the time.
“To have a debate and disagree about what’s happening is good for clarity and getting on the same page. It’s good for questioning yourself, as well, which hopefully leads to a better outcome.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
26 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
26 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
26 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
26 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
26 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments