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Mark McCall slams 'shameful' negative narrative about Owen Farrell
By Liam Heagney
Saracens boss Mark McCall conducted a near 20-minute media briefing on Thursday to shed some light on why Owen Farrell has decided to make himself unavailable for England selection for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
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It was at 3pm on Wednesday when a brief statement by the London club revealed the shocking news that the 32-year-old was taking a break from international rugby so that he and his family could mentally refresh after a challenging time which included him being regularly booed by the crowd at the recent Rugby World Cup.
Suspended for the opening two matches of that tournament following a Summer Nations Series red card versus Wales that was punished by a four-game ban, Farrell returned to lead Steve Borthwick team’s to within a whisker of reaching the World Cup final, eventual winners South Africa needing a last-gasp penalty to clinch their semi-final win.
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Having attended the end-of-tournament World Rugby 2023 awards function in Paris in a solo capacity two nights after England defeated Argentina in the bronze final, Farrell has since returned to the Gallagher Premiership and has played in three Saracens wins in recent weeks.
However, it has now emerged that he won’t be playing for England when they begin their Six Nations with a February 3 assignment away to Italy and McCall, the Saracens director of role, has now told an online media briefing that there is no guarantee that Farrell will eventually made a Test-playing return.
The blunt message Mark McCall delivered on Thursday about mainstream and social media in the wake of the decision by England skipper Owen Farrell to take a Test rugby sabbatical. #EnglandRugby #GallagherPrem #Saracens pic.twitter.com/1LpQfHBByo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 30, 2023
Speaking to an audience of around 20 journalists for close to 20 minutes on Thursday afternoon ahead of Saracens’ home game this Saturday versus Northampton, McCall said about Farrell’s potential post-Six Nations England return: “It’s hard to think that far ahead. His happiness and his well-being is paramount.
“If that in time involves him going back to play international rugby, so be it. He has got nothing to prove, has he? I don’t know how many caps he ended up on, 108, 110 caps, captain of England, and that wasn’t enough for some people.
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“He was made to feel the way that he has been feeling so if he wants to after a break go back to international rugby and it is something that he enjoys and loves, then go for it. But if he chooses that he doesn’t miss that in six months, well then we will support that as well.
“Certainly I didn’t try to persuade him not to change his decision or anything like that and I’m pretty sure Steve (Borthwick) didn’t either,” added McCall about the recent discussions with Farrell in the lead-up to Wednesday’s announcement.
Grasping the nettle as to why Farrell believes he needs to step away from England to mentally refresh, McCall pointed the finger of blame at the mainstream media, a narrative that was followed by what he described as a social media pile-on.
“All I am saying is that social media, we have absolutely zero control over. Zero. But for me, this began in the mainstream media and the narrative that was created around Owen. Not from everybody and not from everybody on this call, but that is what happened.
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“Everyone will somewhere in their heads agree with that and then it was a pile-on on social media, but it was created on the mainstream, so maybe there is some in your industry who need to look at themselves.
“Down the years he has probably been made to feel that he has done something much worse than he has actually done at various times if you know what I mean, and that every single little thing that has been picked up and scrutinised to a level which doesn’t happen with most other players.
“You might say, ‘Well, he is the England captain’. I’m still not sure of other England captains in other sports or whatever who have faced the level of scrutiny. Very rarely is it positive and we are talking about somebody I would consider to be a model professional, somebody who cares deeply about what he does, somebody who cares deeply about the people that he does it with.
“He has been portrayed in a way that doesn’t fit the person that people close to him know and we have ended up where we have ended up… I haven’t thought enough about this call to go back and reflect on when that negativity towards him began. It probably began before he was ever sent off for anything to be honest, so there has always been just an unfair narrative I would say and I don’t know why that is.
“I have worked with Owen for 15 years, worked every day with him for the last 15 years, and I don’t know if the person that is being portrayed in the media bears any resemblance to the person that I know. First and foremost he is a family man. His family have always come first and on top of that, he is a brilliant, caring, supportive teammate and a loyal friend to many. Just a thoroughly good, decent human being and that’s the person that I know.”
Despite this negativity surrounding Farrell, his form came to the boil at France 2023 and McCall described it as remarkable in the circumstances that the out-half performed so well. “It’s actually quite remarkable that he played the way that he played during the World Cup if we take into account how he was feeling. Amazing, incredible really.
“So you have got a person who is probably right on top of his game at the moment, probably the best he has ever been playing, yet he has been made to feel the way that he feels and his family have been made to feel the way that they feel and it’s shameful really.
“Like I said, his happiness and his well-being are paramount and the happiness and well-being of his family are paramount and any decisions that allow that to happen, that is the most important thing. Whether that involves him playing international rugby or not remains to be seen.
“I don’t think it’s a physical thing with him and I don’t think it was the emotional toll of playing a lot which has created this. Something completely different has created how he has been feeling so we’ll see.
“Certainly we need to make sure that we are checking all the time with him. As Steve said yesterday [Wednesday], it’s incredibly brave and courageous of him to open up in the way that he has. Not just to us at the club and other people in England but really to the world as well. So I admire him for many, many reasons anyway, but I admire him even more for doing this.
"That wasn't enough for some people and he was made to feel the way that he is feeling…"
– Mark McCall sheds light on the decision by England skipper Owen Farrell to take a Test rugby sabbatical. #EnglandRugby #GallagherPrem #Saracens pic.twitter.com/zZmucSnnkk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 30, 2023
“It’s not right [the negative narrative]. A lot of these questions you would have to address towards Owen in due course. I can’t tell you why he feels the way that he feels but certainly his happiness and his well-being and his family’s well-being is the most important thing of all and any decisions that are taken going forward, he will have the full support of the club like he always has.”
Farrell’s decision to take an international break follows the early November decision of World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes to retire, stating that he and his family were fed up with the level of abuse. McCall suggested something needed to be done to combat what was happening.
“There is probably a wake-up call for all concerned because there is absolutely no way a referee should face what Wayne faced and there is no way a player, a person like Owen should face what he has faced probably over a much longer period of time than Wayne, to be honest.”
About this weekend’s latest Premiership, McCall added that a decision on Farrell’s availability won’t be taken until Friday as he was still carrying a knock from last weekend’s home win over Bristol.
“Owen got a bang on the knee last weekend and so we will determine whether he plays this weekend or we save him for the Bulls next weekend. We will make that decision tomorrow.”
Could it have anything to do with his past record, like a plethora of late shoulder charges? Or, as England’s captain, his having to be pulled, snarling away, from the opposition by a team mate? Has his somewhat robotic, manufactured playing style finally caught up with him? Do fans want a more dynamic, skilled out half to be given a shot?
Also, does comparing Farrell’s abuse with that of Barnes by McCall, seem to smack of a degree of deflection?
‘He has got nothing to prove, has he?’.
Well, Farrell has to prove that he can face the upcoming 6N music, hasn’t he?
Instead of merely condemning the booing of Farrell, shouldn’t McCall try & find an answer as to why his, England’s fly half was booed?
listen to the comments on here - half of the stuff here is abuse - if someone were to talk about ‘you’ the way ‘you’ talk about others would you take it? Farrell is a top man, diligent and hard working. Whether you like his personality or not is immaterial. Talk about vitriol? Listen to it pouring out on here. There is no longer any perspective. People like Farrell are sitting targets for faceless morons with no talent simply spewing hate at every target that doesn’t fit their narrow minded world. What a shame the rugby world has such patronage. Then again, just human beings, I guess…
A basic question - is it right to bully an international rugby player into what I suspect will be early retirement??
Farrell divides opinion - even as a diehard England fan there were a few bleeps following the 10yd penalty but would I swap him for a ‘nicer’ FH?
If anyone on this forum is a habitual international rugby player would you be good enough to explain what the pressure of being your country's captain is like?
At a World Cup??
Semifinal??
He's not a drugs cheat, he's not a dirty player. He's a top level international getting paid less per annum than a plethora of footballing donkeys that roll themselves to within an inch of the changing rooms if their socks fall down, screaming and crying all the way.
I thought rugby was better than this.
No one should be abused for playing sport and Farrell is a very passionate person who gives his all for his country. However - he's created this himself by behaving like a brat on the pitch and constantly tackling people in the head. It's not because of his high profile or because he's passionate that he gets abused, it's because of his poor behaviour - Wilkinson and Carter didn't have this problem.
Bet those Parisian fans never thought of Farrell’s family in the stands watching their loving father take that level of abuse. Pathetic!
Farrell, irrespective of one’s personal views (those that dislike him are generally idiotic rugby dunces) is a tops No 10, without doubt in the top 3 in the world, and must be respected for his decision to step back from international games for a while. We will miss him in the 6N with no clear cut successor available.
“But for me, this began in the mainstream media and the narrative that was created around Owen. Not from everybody and not from everybody on this call, but that is what happened.”
I completely agree with this, and I think you could say the same about the stick/threats referees get in this day and age on social media. I’m interested to see if some rugby writers (including you Liam) admit that they might have been a bit unnecessarily hard on Farrell at times and contributed to the vitriol that him and his family have received on social media…but I know they won’t.
As a Quins fan, I have a lot of respect for Farrell and often find myself sticking up for him. All I see is a guy who gives 100% in an England shirt, and as a fan I can’t ask for more than that. All I hear from those who have played with him is resounding praise for his qualities as a leader, a player and a person. That is what I base my opinion on.