By the point Jonny Wilkinson performed his closing match in France, all the crowd rose to its toes to sing God save the Queen in his honour.
A decade or so later, Owen Farrell is embarking on an analogous journey of escapism that started with a present of begrudging respect.
The previous England captain was seconds away from kicking Racing 92 to victory over Castres on his High 14 debut, however there’s a technique to go earlier than he replicates the golden contact of ‘Sir Jonny’.
One benefit Wilkinson had was his mastery of the French dictionary. He wooed the locals by adapting to their tradition and Farrell faces the daunting problem of replicating his fierce aura in a second language. Time will inform.
Castres is a sleepy city within the Pyrenees the place many of the inhabitants dwell for the rugby membership. The membership have their very own department of Torcida ultras – extra related to soccer golf equipment throughout Europe – who drowned out their crew’s arrival with flares and smoke bombs. It’s the form of place the place they take the lid off coke bottles on the stadium bars to stop them from being thrown onto the pitch as missiles.
Owen Farrell got here extremely near main Racing 92 to victory in his first recreation for the facet
The 32-year-old moved to the French facet after spending 14 years at English membership Saracens
Farrell is one in every of a number of worldwide stars who compete for Racing 92 within the High 14
So Farrell’s heat reception got here as a shock. For all of Racing’s star gamers, their new English recruit was the one stopped for selfies as he arrived. ‘Owen… I’m a Sarrie!’ shouted one supporter, stopping the No10 in his tracks. A beaming grin adopted however by the tip of the day, after two expensive missed penalties, it was extra of a frown.
There was a way of familiarity right here, with English faces in every single place. Earlier than the match, Farrell surveyed the pitch with Henry Arundell and Sam James, his fellow Englishmen within the backline. He has an English coach in Stuart Lancaster and so they had been reunited for the primary time because the 2015 World Cup.
Now they’re on a joint quest to copy Wilkinson’s achievements on these shores, the place the French adored his dedication to the craft. France is a risky nation, typically caught in political instability, and Wilkinson supplied them an assured sense of predictability. His work-rate was unrivalled and Farrell affords related ranges of dogged dedication.
Certainly one of his first interventions was to chase again from one finish of the pitch to the opposite to seal a ruck and stop a turnover. Unglamorous, sure. Unappreciated, no.
It took 10 minutes to ship the primary attempt of Racing’s new period. Prior to now, Farrell has been lambasted for kicking the ball too typically. Too boring. Too pragmatic. Even when he was typically merely following orders of English coaches.
Farrell made 4 conversions from 4 makes an attempt however Racing 92 weren’t in a position to safe a win
The England star did all he might to assist get Racing over the road however fell quick by three factors
Right here, when the ball squirted out the again of a defensive ruck, Farrell seemed up and handed the ball huge. James ran the ball from his personal 22, turning All Black centre Jack Goodhue inside out, and Arundell sprinted down the best wing to attain. A attempt made in England.
It’s commonplace for opposition goal-kickers to be heckled in France. They snicker off the English angle in direction of ‘respecting the kicker’ so it was little shock that they jeered Farrell’s missed kicks.
With Saracens and England, Farrell was rugby’s alpha spirit. Workforce-mates feared being on the tip of his scowling appears and sharp tongue. The French don’t conform to such hierarchies – particularly from an Englishman – and that was telling by Farrell’s muted response to a miscommunication with Jordan Joseph within the backfield. It’ll take time earlier than his team-mates afford him the identical stage of authority in his new colors.
‘I do know Owen effectively so I believe that’s helped him settle,’ stated Lancaster. ‘It clearly helps that I communicate English. As a ten, it’s a must to study all of the calls in French. All of the lineout calls and all of the performs. Owen’s an skilled participant however he is aware of the construction that I need to play and it’s only a matter of getting him up to the mark with the calling system. It takes time.
Farrell will hope to depart an analogous impression on French rugby as Jonny Wilkinson did on the Parisian membership
‘I believe he’s having fun with the brand new problem. He performed at Saracens for 14 years and he knew the membership inside out. Now he’s having to study a brand new membership, a brand new competitors, a brand new fashion and a brand new manner of speaking. I believe he’s having fun with it. I get no sense of any remorse; I believe he’s relishing the problem.’
The problem won’t be straightforward. Racing have a historical past of investing closely in star gamers but they haven’t gained a serious trophy since Dan Carter guided them to the High 14 in 2016.
Racing have a squad bursting with particular person stars and Farrell’s aim is to forge them right into a collective. They relied closely on energy and one-on-one collisions, with Josua Tuisova bouncing off tackles to arrange Henry Chavancy’s late attempt.
At Saracens, Farrell knew precisely what to demand and anticipate. Claiming the ultimate restart would have been a formality however Racing fumbled the kick-off and it value them dearly. It allowed Christian Ambadiang to grab victory with a spectacular solo attempt within the closing play, ruining Farrell’s first day on the job.
