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The one thing Saracens reckon Owen Farrell will feel 'great' about
It has been a devastating few days for England skipper Owen Farrell as his need for an ankle operation on Wednesday morning ruled him out of the entire 2022 Guinness Six Nations championship, but his Saracens boss Mark McCall has identified the one positive that Farrell can now take from having to go under the knife.
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It was last Friday when Saracens confirmed that Farrell had suffered a fresh injury just as he neared the completion of his comeback from the ankle injury that had left him limping out of last November’s England win over Australia.
That knock required an operation but having been chosen early last week as the England captain for the upcoming Six Nations, the expectation was for Farrell to go on and complete his recovery by playing for Saracens in last Sunday’s European Challenge Cup tie versus London Irish.
However, what was described as a “freak” injury to his other ankle left Farrell consulting medics about what to do to solve his latest issue and that decision emerged on Wednesday when England boss Eddie Jones confirmed that his skipper would miss the entire championship as it would take him between eight to ten weeks to bounce back from his latest operation.
It was this confirmation of a definite rehabilitation timeframe that club boss McCall described as “great” for Farrell as this type of certainty about when you can return to playing is apparently what all injured players crave.
BREAKING: England confirm brutal Six Nations prognosis about skipper Owen Farrell #England #SixNations #SCOvENGhttps://t.co/3SEWgA806H
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 26, 2022
“Everyone is massively disappointed for Owen. He has surgery this morning so recovery starts from now,” said McCall, who wouldn’t go into how the Six Nations campaign-ruining injury actually happened to Farrell. “I don’t think those details are terribly important, to be honest. The big thing is Owen himself was hugely disappointed to miss the Six Nations but the one thing that players crave is a bit of certainty and the certainty that the operation gives him and the surgery gives him is great in lots of ways and we hope to have him back in around eight to ten weeks.
“Whether he was going to have the surgery or not was the question on Monday and when you don’t get the surgery you are not 100 per cent sure how long it is going to be but this gives him clarity that the Six Nations is unachievable. It is not as serious an injury as the first one. In actual fact, it is a more simple surgery and we are very confident he will be back and raring to go in mid-March and available hopefully for the rest of the season.
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“No one likes to miss big tournaments and to miss a whole Six Nations is really unfortunate for Owen. He missed the 2015 Six Nations, so it has happened to him in the past, but he isn’t a player who has had all that many injuries and to get two back-to-back in this manner was unfortunate. This is not a really serious injury and he should be back relatively soon.
“I had a good chat with him yesterday [Tuesday] and he has got his head around it,” continued McCall, who reckoned there was no reason why the 30-year-old should alter his aggressive style of play as he gets older. “Owen has been injury-free for most of his career… he looks after his body and there is no reason why that should change.”
England boss Jones last week outlined four reasons why he had chosen Farrell as his captain. “He has the respect of the team, he is a winner, he drives the competitive spirit of the team and he is the right man to lead the team.” McCall, though, opted not to describe what England will now miss with Farrell unavailable to them for the championship.
“It’s a very hard question for me to answer. I apologise. I don’t want to get some big headline about how I think England are going to be without him so I’d prefer not really speculate on that because it would be speculating.”
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On a happier note, McCall expressed delight that Elliot Daly and Nick Isiekwe were called up by England on Monday, adding that he was surprised to learn Italy were chasing Alex Lozowski as he was part of the England standby group for this Six Nations.
“Elliot Daly has played well in all of our games but played full-back at the weekend and was outstanding. He is one of these real flexible backs that Eddie likes. There are a few positions there are injuries in, not just in the centres but on the wing with Jonny May and Anthony Watson injured. Elliot’s experience means he will be in the mix somewhere. Whether that is on the wing or 13 remains to be seen.
“Nick Isiwke, especially over the last two months, has been on top of his game and we are not surprised at all he has been called in,” added McCall before switching to the Italian speculation over Lozowski who hasn’t been capped by England since November 2018 and could potentially switch to Italy as he has served the new three-year stand-down period.
“I know he is one of the players on a shadow squad for England. He was contacted and is on a standby list so when you are close to the England set-up it would be a big decision to commit to Italy at this point. He has had a brilliant season. Everyone knows that. Whether he has played ten, which he has done from time to time with us, or his favourite position at 13, he has been awesome all year.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
82 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments