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Toby Flood: The Top 14 tactic that would allow Owen Farrell to thrive
By Liam Heagney
Retired England out-half Toby Flood has explained why he believes Owen Farrell would thrive in the Top 14. It emerged last Friday that the 32-year-old, who is currently on a Test rugby sabbatical after skippering Steve Borthwick’s side a third-place finish at the recent Rugby World Cup, was said to be “very close” to quitting Saracens and the Gallagher Premiership and instead committing to a two-year at Stuart Lancaster’s Racing 92.
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It was 2014 when the now 38-year-old Flood quit the English league at the age of 29 for a three-year stint at Toulouse and his experience in France has convinced him that Farrell would be a great success if he took up the offer to move to Paris – adding that even his at-times much-debated tackle technique won’t be an issue.
“He’ll be fine in France; they won’t even look at it,” quipped Flood in a rugby blog for Lucky Block. “For years England have been screaming out for a fly half who could tackle and there he is. Jonny (Wilkinson) started it and Owen has carried it on.
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“Owen will have a nice soft landing there (in Paris). The French have a way of playing, but having Stuart there and the systems he will introduce will align more with him and the way that he plays, and the fact that he knows people there.
“They came into England at the same time and Stuart gave him his debut in 2012. Stuart was also a huge fan of Owen’s dad Andy. He loves him as a character and as an influencer. Having someone aligned with his dad’s mentality and aura will go a long way.
Owen Farrell is in the Leicester house with Saracens the day after it was reported in France that he was “very close” to a two-year deal with Racing 92. #LEIvSAR #GallagherPrem #TOP14 pic.twitter.com/EwuzagLtWB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 6, 2024
“I was talking to Henry Arundell’s agent recently and he said how influential Stuart had been in persuading Henry to stay at Racing and not go back to England to join Bath. Henry can work with one of the best coaches around for a few years and still come back to England at a young age.”
Whereas moving to Toulouse from Leicester was a culture shock in terms of playing style for Flood, he believes the difference won’t be as vast for Farrell if he switches from Saracens to Racing. “Toulouse could not have been more different to Leicester who focused on brutalising teams and had a very structured game plan.
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“In Toulouse, they would run it from behind their posts. Owen will find a happy medium. Racing will have the talent to have a crack but with Lancaster in charge, he will mould things and mix the pragmatic.
“It is very rare for a French team to bring in an Anglo-Saxon coach like Stuart, who is quite compartmentalised and structured in his behaviour. If Racing buy into that with the talent pool and quality they have there is a chance that his influence will run far deeper than just the playing squad.
“It will run into every single metric, strength and conditioning, how they operate daily, how they operate structurally and logistically. Owen knows that sort of environment and the tentacles of Stuart Lancaster across the whole operation, so that will be a great place for him and will have influenced Owen’s decision.”
Flood curiously suggested that a move to the Top 14 wouldn’t necessarily spell the end of Farrell’s legendary England career, even though Borthwick is currently only able to select Premiership-based players.
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“I would imagine that in his contract there are numerous break clauses to cover every scenario. I would be surprised if we didn’t see him back in England at some point and I would be surprised not to see him in an England shirt again. This is not forever, but at this moment just dialing back must be a relief. That’s not to say that he won’t be focused on, but it will be different and if it gets tough he can shrug his shoulders and go to boulangerie.”
What Flood was certain of is the Top 14 would make Farrell a better player. “Racing are a massive club. When you’re a big club in France and go to play smaller clubs they all descend on you. It will make him a better player because it will open his eyes to what rugby can be like both on and off the field. The way they play is so, so different.
“In the Top 14 a game can spark into life in a split second, the crowd gets behind you and you’re on a wave. It’s a very different cadence there. It’s the Gallic flair, something embedded in their mentality which enables them to create a different speed and tempo when things go right. He will learn a huge amount from trying to control that environment and trying to manage it.
“10s are not as important as they are in the UK. Nines do run the game. Everything goes through the nine. They are the focal point. They are so much closer to the forwards and the French like that for a scrum-half to organise the forwards. That can help to lift the pressure on Owen.
“It’s going to be very different and on occasions challenging and exasperating, but if Owen prepares himself mentally – and he has been to some dark places in his career – and comes through, then he will love it.
“There comes a time in life when you can’t always keep being the top guy, every day at Saracens and England people looked to him as their leader. There are times when people say, ‘It’s time I got out.’ He’s 32 now, has had a remarkable career and is one of the few to win more than 100 caps.”
- Click here to read the entire Toby Flood blog on Lucky Block
I don't know that having an English coach counts as a tactic.