By Mitch Phillips
BAGSHOT, England Feb 2 (Reuters) – Three men will
pull on an England senior shirt for the first time and walk out
proudly together to face Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday but
the routes they have taken to get there could not have been more
different.
Twenty-year-old tyro Owen Farrell, South Africa-born Brad
Barritt and 30-year-old number eight Phil Dowson were the
headline-makers when interim coach Stuart Lancaster stayed true
to his word on Thursday, with five more uncapped players
included among the replacements.
Farrell, outstanding for Saracens this season, will start at
inside centre and if he performs as nervelessly in the Six
Nations opener as he did in front of the media pack on Thursday
then England might well have solved the number 12 problem which
has dogged them since Will Greenwood retired.
Farrell was always destined to play international rugby from
the moment his toddler hands began swapping passes with his
father Andy, a dual-code international and now England assistant
coach.
His formative years were spent in Wigan as Andy led the
town’s league team to 13-man glory but once he too switched
codes he represented England at every junior level.
His calm game management at Saracens and ice-cool nerve,
notably on show when his goalkicking helped them win last year’s
Premiership final, belie his tender years and he expects to
remain as grounded in the cauldron of an evening Calcutta Cup
clash with an atmosphere fuelled by a day’s Edinburgh drinking.
“I’ve kicked in front of 82,000 at Twickenham, it doesn’t
change for me,” he told reporters. “The build-up to it may be a
bit different, the atmosphere is exciting at the beginning and
you notice at the end but it’s just a game and in between you
have a job to do. Once you cross that white line you focus on
your job.
“I’m excited, as anyone would be, and I’m looking forward to
getting stuck in. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere, looking
to enjoy it and hopefully thrive off it.”
Continued…
