1
Watch: The moment Owen Farrell proved he possessed the greatness gene
England’s captain Owen Farrell has grown into the rugby world’s most polarising figure, but many detractors overlook his vast array of talents and forget about his match-winning ability.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wales found out in 2017 when a 26-year-old Farrell iced the game with one of the most deadly long balls in recent memory.
What’s more, it was the second consecutive week an Owen Farrell try assist won the game for England.
Down 12-16 with 10-minutes to go at Twickenham against France the week before, Owen Farrell pulled the trigger on a perfectly timed short ball to put a steaming Ben Te’o over for the game-winning try.
Against Wales, the side was once again down 14-16 with five minutes remaining. A rushed clearing kick from centre Jonathan Davies failed to find touch, and England sparked a counter-attack.
As Farrell got the ball from George Ford, nothing really looked on, before the mercurial playmaker zinged a hot ball across the face of an unsuspecting Alex Cuthbert.
Cuthbert was showing Elliot Daly the sideline in what was a seriously miscalculated judgment of the England winger. Daly scorched past the Welsh winger to land the knockout blow, sucking the air out of a stunned Millennium Stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was a stunning match-winning play by Farrell to punish the Welsh mistakes when England needed a play most. For good measure, Farrell then banged the conversion over from the sideline.
Owen Farrell’s killer instinct saved England’s opening two weeks of the Six Nations, which they would ultimately go on to win.
meh, that's a bog standard pass made possible by a defensive alignment failure by Cuthbert.
If he could not make that pass, he wouldn't be playing first division, let alone internationals.
He is still a tosser