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Watch - Owen Farrell throws 'unreal' pass against Exeter
By PA
Owen Farrell was acclaimed as a once in a generation player after masterminding Saracens’ 35-3 Gallagher Premiership rout of Exeter at StoneX Stadium.
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Farrell excelled in wretched conditions, with the highlight of his man of the match display an audacious no-look, reverse, miss pass that sent Alex Lewington over for the bonus point.
It comes as new England head coach Steve Borthwick considers his options at fly-half ahead of the Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 4, with Marcus Smith also competing for the role of chief conductor.
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“Trying to lead a team in those conditions is tough. It is where you see the ultimate game managers and leaders and Owen is still at the very forefront of that,” Saracens head coach Joe Shaw said.
“When you look at the whole of this season and you see some of the performances we have put in and the tries we have scored, the person who has been at the centre of that is Owen, showing off his skillset.
“His kicks into space put Exeter under pressure and he backed it up with how physical he was in defence. I thought he was superb.
“If you know anything about rugby you realise what an unbelievable and special talent we have had for this generation.
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“He has just turned 31, he has got 100 caps for England, been on three Lions tours, won everything domestically and captained his country. He is absolutely fantastic.”
When asked about his magical pass in the last 10 minutes, Shaw said: “Owen has got that in his skillset.
“He would have known Alex Lewington was out there and when you practice and practice….people think it’s luck but it’s not.”
'If you know anything about rugby you realise what an unbelievable and special talent we have had for this generation.' ?pic.twitter.com/LaUuJZAqGs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 31, 2022
Exeter remain in sixth place and head coach Ali Hepher admits his team must stitch together some wins at Sandy Park in the coming weeks if they are to be in title contention.
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The Chiefs fielded a side weakened by injury and a bug that has swept through the club, but Hepher remained upbeat over what the future holds.
“We’ve been here against Saracens in the past, lost heavily but also learned the lessons and come back stronger,” he said.
“You have to give Saracens credit for their performance – the speed that they played at, the speed that they countered at.
“Even when they make errors they don’t get seen because they’re doing things so fast. They were too fast for us.
“We are where we are – a mid-table side. We have a run of home games now that are very important. We’ll target those games and try to put our stamp on the season.
“What makes or breaks our season won’t be what we’ve done here but what we do over the next four or five matches.
“We’re clearly on a rebuild. We’ve lost players because we haven’t been able to retain them within the salary cap.
“We have to reboot and regenerate. We’re below where we were but we’re on the move back to that spot. It won’t happen overnight but it’s exciting.”
