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Owen Farrell becomes first player to be beaten by the clock
By Ian Cameron
England’s Owen Farrell made plenty of history today in Lille today, both the wanted and unwanted variety.
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England made it four wins out of four at Rugby World Cup 2023 but they were made fight for it by Samoa, with Steve Borthwick’s side limping over the line 18-17 in Lille on Saturday.
On the plus side for Farrell, he broke Jonny Wilkinson’s long-standing England points record, surpassing Wilkinson’s 1,179 points tally against Samoa in Lille.
However, he became the first player to ever fall foul of the shot clock at a Rugby World Cup.
A kick must be taken within 60 seconds (playing time) from the time the team indicated their intention to do so, even if the ball rolls over and has to be placed again. World Rugby introduced a visual shot clock to hurry kickers along in a bid to speed up the game.
This really sums tonight up for England ?
Owen Farrell runs out of time on his penalty kick ?? pic.twitter.com/13KeK71wcU
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 7, 2023
While plenty of players have run the clock shot close at the Rugby World Cup, no one has ever gone over the allotted 60 seconds, until Farrell, who went over time in 65th minute, squandering three precious points for England.
Gone in 60 seconds…
Owen Farrell becomes the first player at #RWC2023 to be OUT OF TIME on the shot clock and is penalised ? #RWC2023 #ENGvSAM #GBR4 pic.twitter.com/FyFxFpYaDT
— The Good, The Bad & The Rugby (@GoodBadRugby) October 7, 2023
Twitter – or X as it is now called – had a field day.
Squidge wrote: “What a day for Owen Farrell, breaks Wilkinson’s points record and beats Sexchicken to become the first player to ever time out a kick at a World Cup.”
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What a day for Owen Farrell, breaks Wilkinson’s points record and beats Sexchicken to become the first player to ever time out a kick at a World Cup
— Squidge Rugby (@SquidgeRugby) October 7, 2023
Journalist Owain Jones wrote: “Was getting low-level anxiety with kickers letting the shot-clock run down to the red and now Owen Farrell has let it overrun. Astounding from a player with such experience.”
