The lack of love and respect for Owen Farrell is baffling

Saracens centre Duncan Taylor has played the vast majority of his career outside Owen Farrell, following his calls and reading all his cues, yet he still struggles to put himself in the England captain’s shoes. “Being in his brain…I don’t think really understands what goes through his mind," he said.

The paradox is how Farrell combines the fire of his leadership with the ice of his tactical awareness, providing what Taylor describes as a “feeling of calm having him at the helm.” At times in his career, the heat of his intensity has threatened to melt his teammates, yet the pressure he puts on them is nothing compared to his expectations of his own performance. “He is his own biggest critic,” Taylor confirms.

In the past 12 months, however, there has been a subtle shift. Just as Saracens have loosened the shackles of their attacking play, Farrell has also loosened up. A small snapshot came in the Premiership semi-final victory against Northampton when his attempted 50-22 kick just rolled dead. Where once he would have scowled in the manner of a bulldog chewing a wasp, here he laughed at the fickleness of a bouncing ball.

The smile was still there in the Premiership final victory over Sale Sharks on Saturday, only this time every kick and pass hit their mark in the most complete performance by an English fly half this season. “When you watch him play and train in these last six months he has been really enjoying it and what rugby offers him and gives him,” Taylor said. “I think it has brought the best out of him. He has been incredible this season. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders at times, especially during the Six Nations, but the way he comes back to give everything to this club is just testament to his personality.

“He is one of the toughest competitors going but he has also got one of the calmest heads too. His track record in finals is pretty ridiculous. He knows how to get the job done and he brings everyone with him. You see how much he enjoys it.”

'Owen has been one of the best players in the world for a long time'

The 31-year-old has not quite experienced a damascene conversion. As Jackson Wray, another long-term teammate, confirms, the ferocity of his demands have not abated in the slightest, although that has never affected the esteem in which he is held by Saracens.

“You know where you are,” Wray said. “He screams at you get off the line, you get off the line. He screams at you to get off the floor, you get off the floor. He is a driver of everything and in those moments he is crucial.

“There is a reason he has been one of the best players in the world for a long, long time. To have played almost all my games with him is an incredible privilege but there is never any doubt in my mind he is England’s No.10. You see it [in the final], he was out there, he was melting people, putting kicks in, controlling the game, adding tempo and that is what you need. I am a little bit biased but he is one of the best players I have played with.”

Barring injury, Farrell will be starting for England during the World Cup, whether that is at 10 or possibly 12, which will be of no cause for celebration for a sizeable section of the country’s support. Full back Alex Goode remains baffled by the lack of love and respect that Farrell has engendered among supporters that is widely shared among the team mates and opponents alike.

“I don’t think he has ever had that love and respect over his career but there’s no one who wouldn’t want to play with him,” Goode said. “Even on opposition sides, everyone would want to be with him. I have played so much of my career and I wouldn’t want to have anyone else there. He is a special player and it’s not just what you see on the field today, it is the lead-up in the week driving standards and getting everyone to that level.

“He has done that all season and that is a special quality. A lot of people want to have that responsibility but when it comes to it that means thinking about the game, thinking about the team, thinking about the personalities. Then to be able to drive that and lead that is unique. He is unique in that role.”