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If either call were to come, does Owen Farrell want to go on tour with England or the British & Irish Lions this summer? It is both the question that most intrigues and the one that he steadfastly does not answer following his return to Saracens.
“There’s nothing for me to do other than concentrate on getting myself back here and getting myself in the best place I can and everything else is hypothetical,” is a typical example of his response. There were a number of others in the 20 minutes spent in his company, back at the StoneX stadium after a torrid season with Racing 92, but all gave little insight into what his reaction might be if Steve Borthwick or his dad, Andy Farrell, wish to call him up for either England’s summer tour of Argentina and the USA, or the Lions’ trip to Australia.
Farrell, of course, has every right to keep his counsel. He is still unpacking boxes at his Harpenden home so recent was the confirmation of his move back to Saracens. He turns 34 in September and though he doesn’t regret his move to Racing, the sense he gives is that his remaining playing days are precious so where better to spend them than at his boyhood club. “I couldn’t see myself anywhere else other than here,” he says. “This is my home and this is the place where I’d want to go.”
He speaks of a determination to “get myself in a good place” to “enjoy myself” and to “be happy” after a season littered with injury problems that began in pre-season in Paris. The fallout from the 2023 World Cup campaign in which he became England’s record points scorer and was booed by his own supporters, prompting a decision to step away from international duty before his move to Racing was sealed, is significant, too.
He is unequivocal that he has not retired from England duty – keeping the door open on adding to his 112 caps – but it is easy to come to the conclusion that settling back into Saracens with a full pre-season is what he wants most for now. “I keep talking about enjoying myself, and being happy,” he says. “I think that’s the way I get more out of it now. More out of the playing side now, and more out of everything. That’s what opens up more opportunity. If I get to that, and I’m loving what I’m doing, then we’ll see.”
Yet when offered ample opportunity to say he remains unavailable for international action this summer, he does not take it. He confesses to finding it hard watching England’s Six Nations campaign in 2024 and after a concussion last month brought a premature end to his Racing season, he is closing in on full fitness. “I’m still working and training on my own,” he adds. “It would probably be better if I was with a team at the minute, but if I was to play I’d have to go through the protocol to get back to contact. I shouldn’t be far away from that.”
He has been in fairly regular contact with Borthwick, who visited Farrell in Paris, and now that he is back at Saracens he is in theory available again. He could already be back at England’s training camp in Bagshot but you suspect it would take an injury for the head coach to sound Farrell out about this summer.
The Lions tour is a different proposition but, in some ways, something Farrell might be more suited to. He has been on three tours before, knows precisely what they entail, and father Andy would know exactly what he is getting. Andy revealed that the door was still open for Farrell Jr to join the tour at a later stage when announcing his squad last month and asked what the current state of play is, Owen replied: “It’s not changed I don’t think, it’s the same.”
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His ears prick up when learning that Jack van Poortvliet has been called up by the Lions as injury cover this week – Farrell has a punditry gig to prepare for on Friday for the warmup match against Argentina after all – but listen to him reflect on his previous Lions experiences, particularly the 2013 tour of Australia and the passion still burns brightly. “I loved the first one. There were only two fly-halves picked and I was 21 and was involved in all but one game,” he says. “I loved it.”
It is as good a clue as any as to his answer if the call does come. For Farrell strikes as entirely genuine in his pursuit of happiness but across his 17-year career he has rarely seemed happier than when in the heat of battle.
