Saracens may be reeling from the untimely loss of Maro Itoje to a broken jaw but in Owen Farrell they have another England international positively champing at the bit. Both were managed through England’s autumn to the extent that each started only one match but whereas Itoje is now laid up until the new year, Farrell is in his element amid talk of a crisis at Saracens, who have lost five matches in a row.
As Eddie Jones revealed, Farrell hated being left out – “itching to play rugby” is how the fly-half puts it – but he can see the benefits of a brief lay-off and while his return did not go to plan in last week’s defeat by Harlequins, Saracens’ loss of form has only sharpened his senses as the European champions prepare to take on Clermont on Sunday in a re-run of last season’s final.
“I like it, these are the things that can set you up for the rest of the year if you get them right,” says Farrell. “This sort of stuff can iron things out and put you on a good road leading into the rest of the season. I don’t think anybody who achieves anything just goes through it plain sailing. You only have to look at us as a group, over the past however many years, to know that you have to go through some bad times to go through the good ones.”
Farrell’s competitive streak is such that it is little surprise he did not take his England omissions against Argentina and Samoa particularly well. The first of those matches only reaffirmed how integral he is to Jones’s back division and while England were improved in that department against the Pacific Islanders, it is no great stretch to suggest Australia might have triumphed at Twickenham had Farrell been given the autumn off in its entirety.
“[When I was told] I went away and thought about it,” he says. “I want to play and I think every player would say the same. But there’s people who know better than me about what’s good for you and what’s going to put you in a good position, long term. That was the way they were thinking with it over the past few weeks. It can only be good for everyone.
“I was itching to play rugby. Playing that Australia game got me excited, I wanted to play again. It’s good to be back playing. I’ve only missed two games, mind. It’s not like I’ve been out all year. I feel good, I feel like I’ve got some good work done over the past four or five weeks. I feel a bit stronger, a bit quicker, like I’ve added a bit physically, and hopefully that shows.”
Farrell was also quick to dismiss the idea that his groove is harder to find without the rhythm that comes with a prolonged run of matches and while Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, suggested it was not ideal for Clermont – who lost 28-17 to Saracens in the Champions Cup final in Edinburgh in May – to be next up at Allianz Park, his fly-half is relishing the star-studded rematch.
“It is a big game and we treat it like we have done every other big game,” he says. “We need to make sure we don’t get uptight and anxious about things. We have got to go out and attack it. That is the only way to go about our business. We try and do the right thing and play the right way and do what we do well and attack the game. Hopefully the performances come off the back of that.
“We are not in crisis. Can we do something better? Yes. We are working pretty hard and pretty calmly to sort out what we can do better. It is not a million miles off but at the same time, I can only speak from the weekend because it was the one I was involved in, it wasn’t quite there.”
Saracens’ losing run has not only coincided with the autumn internationals but also a number of injuries to key players. Itoje is joined on the sidelines by Schalk Brits, Liam Williams, Michael Rhodes and Billy Vunipola. Clermont, the Top 14 champions, have their own injury troubles – particularly in the half-backs which means Isaia Toeava moves to fly-half for this match. They sit ninth in their league but Farrell is expecting a challenge on a par with Saracens’ Murrayfield triumph in May.
“[They are a] big powerful team, aren’t they? With some very dangerous backs and forwards,” says the 26-year-old. “They have some athletic forwards on the back row, some big men in the tight five and some very dangerous players in that backline.
“If they get momentum or any sort of offload or make a dent in you with a carry, then they have the sort of players who are dangerous with the ball – they come to life and punish you.”
