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The extra steps Owen Farrell is taking to legalise his tackle technique ahead of England return

By PA
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Owen Farrell is undertaking additional tackling practice as England’s captain prepares for his first match since serving a five-week suspension for a dangerous challenge.

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Farrell was sent off for knocking Wasps’ Charlie Atkinson unconscious with a high hit last month and as a result of the ensuing ban, the 29-year-old missed Saracens’ Champions Cup quarter and semi-finals.

It underlined a recurring concern over his technique that first emerged during the 2018 autumn campaign, although until Atkinson was concussed he had escaped punishment.

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With Eddie Jones poised to field a strong team to face the Barbarians knowing the Six Nations title will be on the line in Rome six days later, Farrell could be in action for the first time since September 5 at Twickenham on Sunday.

“Owen’s always working on his tackle technique,” head coach Jones said.

“I went to the gym this (Tuesday) morning and I was walking through before we were going to catch up and he was there doing some extra work with (head of strength and conditioning) Jon Clarke.

“That’s a constant work-on for not only Owen, but a lot of our players. The laws of the high tackle have become increasingly tighter, which is for the welfare of the players and all of our players are conscious of their responsibility.

“Owen and I have ongoing conversations. There’s not a day where we don’t talk, or text each other. And now he’s in camp, it’s face-to-face.

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“He’s aware of his responsibilities as England captain – he made a mistake in a game, we’ve moved on from that and now his job’s to be the best England captain he can be. That’s what he’s striving to do.”

England will face the Barbarians without players from Gallagher Premiership finalists Exeter and Wasps, plus Bristol who are on standby in the event Wasps are forced to withdraw because of an outbreak of coronavirus.

When the Chiefs and Bears contingent do enter camp on Monday in advance of the Six Nations finale against Italy, they will so as holders of the Champions and Challenge Cups following an English clean sweep of European competition.

“I always look at those games as selection games,” Jones said.

“They’re important games because they’re high-pressure games and you see the guys play under the pressure of winning or not winning a trophy.

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“It’s always great to see English clubs do well. I was particularly impressed by a number of Exeter players who did well in what was a good quality European cup final.

“I’m also very pleased for Bristol to win their first trophy, so congratulations to both of those teams.

“It’s not a short-term benefit for England, it’s a longer-term benefit. We’ve had that previously with Saracens being a dominant team in Europe and now we’ve got Exeter.

“Those payers come in and they know they’ve been able to beat players from other countries, so that adds to the strength of the team.”

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O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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