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Six Nations 2019: Farrell's move to 10 will shape England's tournament
The 2018 Six Nations was one to forget for England and Eddie Jones but Owen Farrell can be crucial in their bid for vengeance.
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England headed into last year’s competition on the back of consecutive Six Nations triumphs, having only been denied a second straight Grand Slam by a final-weekend defeat to Ireland.
But their status as pre-tournament favourites proved well wide of the mark, with Jones’ men routing Italy and scraping past Wales before losing their last three to Scotland, France and Ireland.
That was the start of a six-match losing streak in 2018, before England finished the year strongly with four wins out of five, the only blot a narrow 16-15 defeat to world champions New Zealand at Twickenham.
England will go from the hunted to the hunters against Ireland in their opening game in Dublin on Saturday, but Omnisport looks at why the dangerous Farrell can be pivotal in their bid for Six Nations glory.
#IREvENG | 4? days to go…#CarryThemHome ? pic.twitter.com/OR9L4icib8
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 29, 2019
TIME TO FLY AT 10?
One of Farrell’s biggest strengths, but perhaps also a frustration to himself, is his versatility. The Saracens star is one of the best fly-halves in the world but has largely featured at inside centre under Jones as part of a 10-12 axis with George Ford. However, in last year’s November internationals Farrell was utilised in his most effective position in wins over South Africa and Australia, and the narrow loss to the All Blacks. Farrell now appears more likely to start at 12 against Ireland after Ben Te’o was ruled out through injury, but it remains a possibility that England’s captain takes the number 10 jersey.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Farrell is a natural leader in the squad and acted as co-captain with Dylan Hartley for the November Tests. However, with Hartley ruled out of the Ireland clash with a knee injury Farrell is set to be sole skipper, providing he is fit after a minor thumb operation, and will have the chance to stake his claim for the armband permanently. Farrell demands high standards from those around him and leads by example on the field. The chance to captain England to a Six Nations triumph is sure to be a huge motivator.
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SETTING A WORLD CUP MARKER
Four years ago, Farrell was part of an England squad that suffered a humiliating pool-stage exit at the Rugby World Cup – becoming the first home nation to crash out in the groups. It was that poor showing that prompted the sacking of Stuart Lancaster and the appointment of Jones. With the next World Cup taking place in Japan later this year, England will be chomping at the bit to head into the tournament with plenty of momentum and Farrell will be desperate to be the catalyst for doing so.
Countdown to #IREvENG ?#CarryThemHome ? pic.twitter.com/IPkfCSv9sl
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 29, 2019
BIG HITTERS BACK
England have had their fair share of injury problems, with Billy Vunipola missing the entire 2018 Six Nations and the November internationals, while brother Mako was also absent for the latter fixtures. Powerhouse Manu Tuilagi has been blighted by injury throughout his career, and Joe Launchbury missed out in November as well. But all four are in the 25-man squad retained for the Ireland game and England are sure to pack more of a punch with them on the pitch, which should help to create the gaps for Farrell to exploit.
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’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?
2 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
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