Owen Farrell - the rationale

mbernz wrote:I'm not a fan of the Farrell position shift, but it's interestingly being backed by possibly the greatest ever IC.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30124669

Former Australia centre Tim Horan, who won two World Cups, believes Farrell can thrive in the England number 12 shirt against Samoa on Saturday.

"He's a wonderful player [and] I think it's a good move," Horan told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Owen has a very good kicking game, a good rugby brain, and I think he will adapt really well," he added.

Former England fly-half Charlie Hodgson - who played alongside Farrell at the start of Stuart Lancaster's spell as head coach - has questioned whether his Saracens' club-mate should shift across the backline, a view supported by the former England centre Jeremy Guscott.

But Horan is confident that replacement fly-half George Ford and Farrell can combine to good effect.

"George Ford will take the pressure off Owen Farrell and it will allow Owen to run the ball a bit more, and view the game without trying to dictate," Horan added.

"I think Owen will show that with less responsibilities - playing at number 12 - he will be able to show the real form everyone is waiting to see,. It would be harder moving from 12 to 13 than from 10 to 12."

"The great thing about England now is that if George Ford wants to run himself, he knows that if he gets caught in the breakdown, he has someone else to step in to first receiver."

Horan played in both centre positions during his 80-cap international career, and says the role of the inside centre is every bit as critical as that of the fly-half.

"The number 12 is the link, and the eyes and ears for the nine and the 10. You have to be able to get the ball past the number 12 to ignite the backline," he said. "It's important to have that link player at 12 to create some width in the game."

Ford and Farrell are old friends who played together throughout the age-group levels, helping the England U20s reach the final of the 2011 Junior World Championship.

And Bath stand-off Ford - who will take on the goal-kicking duties at Twickenham - has rejected suggestions the combination will struggle at the highest level.

"We've played a lot together and we've got a good understanding of what we need from each other," the 21-year-old told BBC Radio 5 live.

Hear more from Tim Horan and George Ford on 5 live Rugby with Matt Dawson, Thursday, 20 November from 21:00 GMT.

MY ENGLAND OPTIONS

Team A is the side I’d pick to play New Zealand from Stuart Lancaster’s squad. Team B is my line-up — excluding injuries – if I had picked the squad. Team C assumes everyone is fit.
(Personnel and positional changes are in CAPITALS)

Team A: Promising
Mike Brown, Semesa Rokoduguni, Luther Burrell, Owen Farrell, Marland Yarde, George Ford, Danny Care, Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, David Wilson, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw (captain), James Haskell

Team B: Exciting
Mike Brown, Semesa Rokoduguni, Luther Burrell, Owen Farrell, CHRISTIAN WADE, DANNY CIPRIANI, Danny Care, Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, David Wilson, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, CHRIS ROBSHAW (c), STEFFON ARMITAGE, James Haskell

TEAM C: Off the scale
(85,000 fans would be off their seats if this team clicked)
Mike Brown, Semesa Rokoduguni, MANU TUILAGI, Owen Farrell, CHRISTIAN WADE, DANNY CIPRIANI, Danny Care, ALEX CORBISIERO, Dylan Hartley, DAN COLE, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, CHRIS ROBSHAW (c), STEFFON ARMITAGE, James Haskell.

England fly-half Owen Farrell insists the switch to inside centre is stopgap measure as George Ford is given chance to stake No 10 claims against Samoa on Saturday evening

Same name, different position, same attitude, same approach. Owen Farrell is not about to reinvent himself. The Saracens fly-half has been shifted along the England back line to inside centre to make room for his schoolboy pal, George Ford.

Farrell may well be in the No 12 shirt but there is little prospect of him dedicating himself to the role for the rest of his career. This is a stopgap arrangement, a short-term shuffling of the deck to get Ford into the front-line, a reprieve for out-of-sorts Farrell who has to show that what he offers in terms of character, resolve, cussedness, leadership, defence, kicking and organisation can still be of value for England.

Farrell, though, is not for turning. Of course, he is committed to the England cause, selfless in that regard, without ego and without side. He is not the sort to sulk or to whine. Farrell has accepted the move with good grace, even tipping his hat towards the decision to hand over the goal-kicking duties to Ford so that he can learn to deal with the pressure.

Yet there is no sense that Farrell sees his own future at international level as an inside centre. If it comes to pass in England colours, it comes to pass. But he will not be refining his play accordingly, nor head back to Saracens and demand that they throw him the 12 shirt. Not surprising really given that it tends to be worn by the bloke alongside him at Twickenham on Saturday, Brad Barritt.

Farrell remains a fly-half in his own mind and will bring those technical attributes to bear against Samoa.

“I am not an out-and-out classic centre,” said Farrell. “What we are trying to do is get our levels of organisation up and give us a couple of options. The thing is to give George as many options as possible and give him as much clarity as I can. He is going to have his head looking at the speed of ball and looking at what’s in front of him, and I will try to give him the eyes from the outside. I won’t be piping down. It will be a different way of talking, feeding info. I will obviously be playing one pass out but I will still be playing the same way. As far as I see it you have got another 10 playing at 12. [As for the future] it depends how it works, whether you want two 10s in the team or not. I am by no means a 12. And there are some very good 12s around as well.”

Up to a point there are. Billy Twelvetrees appeared to be the anointed one in filling what has been the most troublesome position for England in more than a decade. Many have been tried, few have succeeded with any longevity. The Gloucester playmaker has worked his way back to bench duties for Saturday’s game after servicing the starting role with some aplomb for the duration of the 2014 Six Nations championship with Luther Burrell outside him. Injury has handicapped the Northampton centre in this campaign and he only recently returned to action for his club.

Twelvetrees has been a conundrum, from infuriating to intoxicating, sometimes in the same sequence of play. Inconsistency, mental frailty, a tendency to do rash things at critical times, be it a fluffed pass or kick or tackle, has been the bane of coaches’ lives at club and country.

Twelvetrees has a wonderful array of skills and is far better to suited to the No 12 shirt than Farrell, has more dexterity as well as presence when taking the ball up. But he cannot come anywhere near matching the indomitable will of the Saracens player.

The selection though is curious, a risk even. Ford’s strength lies in his ability to take the ball to the line, draw the defence, delay his pass, and pop players through those half-gaps. Farrell, though, does not have the pace or the bulk to take advantage of that space. He may do so from time to time but he is certainly not a long-term option in the way that Burrell or Twelvetrees might be, with the arrival on the scene at some point of Slammin’ Sam Burgess, the putative ace in the pack. Allied with Manu Tuilagi in the centre, England would go Route One all afternoon, and why not? That is for another day.

Kyle Eastmond, with his jinking footwork, prospers at club level but his lack of a kicking game is precisely why England have turned to Farrell even though he has been terribly out of kilter. When pressed, Farrell acknowledges that there have been “a couple of clear errors”, but has no truck with the notion that his fitness after an injury-afflicted build-up is affecting his form. He certainly did not take his selection for granted.

“I didn’t for one second think that even if things were going brilliantly and we were winning every game, that I was going to start every game from now til whenever,” said Farrell. “I am not naive enough to think that. We have probably not worked as well [as a team] as we did in the Six Nations but we will get back to that quickly. Moving to centre is a chance to try something different. I’m just chuffed to be involved.” The Twickenham jury will reserve judgment. The schoolboy friends face a testing afternoon.

Lancaster's No 12s
Owen Farrell will be the fifth player to start at inside centre under Stuart Lancaster.

1. Brad Barritt: eight games
The 28-year-old Saracens stalwart was Lancaster’s first choice when he took over. Defensively strong but one-dimensional.

2. Manu Tuilagi: two games
Tried on 2012 South Africa tour but soon reverted to favoured outside centre position.

3. Billy Twelvetrees: 12 games
Gloucester playmaker took over at start of 2013 Six Nations. All the talent but questions over temperament.

4. Kyle Eastmond: five games
Given chance on last two summer tours and kept place for this autumn series but let down by kicking game.

mbernz wrote:I posted this on the match thread.  The interview and later discussion in the radio programme are worth a listen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04p5qvx

mbernz wrote:I'm not a fan of the Farrell position shift, but it's interestingly being backed by possibly the greatest ever IC.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30124669

Former Australia centre Tim Horan, who won two World Cups, believes Farrell can thrive in the England number 12 shirt against Samoa on Saturday.

"He's a wonderful player [and] I think it's a good move," Horan told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Owen has a very good kicking game, a good rugby brain, and I think he will adapt really well," he added.

Former England fly-half Charlie Hodgson - who played alongside Farrell at the start of Stuart Lancaster's spell as head coach - has questioned whether his Saracens' club-mate should shift across the backline, a view supported by the former England centre Jeremy Guscott.

But Horan is confident that replacement fly-half George Ford and Farrell can combine to good effect.

"George Ford will take the pressure off Owen Farrell and it will allow Owen to run the ball a bit more, and view the game without trying to dictate," Horan added.

"I think Owen will show that with less responsibilities - playing at number 12 - he will be able to show the real form everyone is waiting to see,. It would be harder moving from 12 to 13 than from 10 to 12."

"The great thing about England now is that if George Ford wants to run himself, he knows that if he gets caught in the breakdown, he has someone else to step in to first receiver."

Horan played in both centre positions during his 80-cap international career, and says the role of the inside centre is every bit as critical as that of the fly-half.

"The number 12 is the link, and the eyes and ears for the nine and the 10. You have to be able to get the ball past the number 12 to ignite the backline," he said. "It's important to have that link player at 12 to create some width in the game."

Ford and Farrell are old friends who played together throughout the age-group levels, helping the England U20s reach the final of the 2011 Junior World Championship.

And Bath stand-off Ford - who will take on the goal-kicking duties at Twickenham - has rejected suggestions the combination will struggle at the highest level.

"We've played a lot together and we've got a good understanding of what we need from each other," the 21-year-old told BBC Radio 5 live.

Hear more from Tim Horan and George Ford on 5 live Rugby with Matt Dawson, Thursday, 20 November from 21:00 GMT.

bedfordwelsh wrote:The Manu on the wing concept was crazy IMO it was never going to work, I do though think that SL has put all his eggs in the Manu basket and if he's out injured that's when he struggles to know who else to play in the centre.