Farrell is England's all-time leading points scorer but is never applauded in the same way as George Ford or Marcus Smith. Photo: Getty Images/Paul Harding
This is the story of three England captains. When Harry Kane flew out to Wembley on Tuesday night in his first match in London since leaving Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern, his name was cheered by the fans.
Ben Stokes is currently 7- 1 at the time of coronation. BBC Sports Personality of the Year, despite ultimately failing in his mission as England captain to bring back the Ashes from Australia.
And then there's Owen Farrell. As Ellis Genge said after England's 30-24 win over Fiji last weekend, when Farrell's name was loudly booed by the Marseille crowd before kick-off, he and the others «are probably the villains because everyone hates them.»
< p>It's easy to see why opposition fans — and there were plenty of Australian, Scottish, Welsh and French fans at the Stade Velodrome — targeted Farrell as the embodiment of English snarling arrogance and with his history of high tackles. But some English fans also joined in, or at least did not respond with the same level of applause as George Ford or Marcus Smith. Farrell was also booed in Lille, where England fans were in the overwhelming majority at matches against Chile and Samoa.He is not just England's captain, but England's record points scorer with a legitimate claim, as recently stated Chris Ashton. formulated for Telegraph Sport to be considered the greatest of all time. As the Black Eyed Peas once sang, Where's the Love?
A string of high tackles and a deep connection to Saracens, both in their successes and scandals, doesn't help, but according to England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth, Farrell is a victim of tall poppy syndrome, where a person's success causes them to be attacked or resented . “As always, the tallest trees catch the most wind, and he seems to be catching a fair amount of it,” Wigglesworth said. “It’s been proven again and again and again and I don’t understand why in England we feel the need to not celebrate it, not enjoy it, just because he’s not sitting in front of social media or the media lapping it all up.”
There is no doubt that an England captain in any sport is a lightning rod for poor results, of which the rugby team has had plenty over the last two years, but it is instructive to see how Stokes and Kane are perceived by the English public in comparison to Farrell. Even despite the toxic tribalism in football, Kane is liked by most fans and his achievements are universally respected. Stokes, who once stood trial for knocking someone unconscious, is positively revered as the original student of the book Baseball and is third in the list of SPOTY Award contenders. By comparison, you can get Farrell at 66-1 despite England being two games away from winning the World Cup. Ford's price is currently lower.
Kane is England's top scorer but is yet to win major silverware. Photo: Getty Images/Richard Sellers
If Farrell were a US presidential candidate, public relations consultants would surround him to demonstrate his connection to the «everyman» who kisses babies and pretends to drink beer. Farrell, Wigglesworth suggested, has no desire to play such a game. He has posted on social network X (formerly Twitter) four times in the past 12 months, and his most recent Instagram post was a photo of his dog and his new lawnmower.
However, he has mellowed considerably in the media spotlight in recent years, even if the main press conference table will never be his natural habitat. Beneath his rough, sandpaper-like exterior lies a kind heart. For years he has raised awareness of the Joining Jack campaign, developing a close relationship with Jack Johnson, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Several Saracens teammates describe Farrell as «the best person I know». The story goes that after Farrell caught Charlie Atkinson with a high tackle and was sent off, he spent the evening with the then Wasps midfielder, allowing him to milk him for advice as much as he wanted.
And that's part of the problem with Farrell's perception, that many of his qualities, both personal and professional, are hidden from the public. “He's a fantastic leader and I know he's someone you'd like to follow on the pitch,” Borthwick said after the quarter-final win. His qualities as a leader and standard-setter are well known to his teammates, but are harder to appreciate for those on the outside. When the story surfaced of Farrell telling striker Henry Arundell to «chase those damn shots» at England training earlier this summer, many people interpreted it in a negative light, while most managers would have been glad the player wasn't afraid to call out a teammate on command.
Farrell is known for his reticence when dealing with the media. Posted by World Rugby/Michael Steele
Last week, Telegraph Sport rugby writers were asked to select their halfback for the quarter-final against Fiji. I chose George Ford based on tournament form, but there was never any doubt that Borthwick would return to Farrell because of those intangibles. . Farrell then justified Borthwick's faith with an impressive individual performance, scoring a late goal and a penalty to send England over the line against Fiji.
Some actors are naturally suited to playing villains. Think of the late, great Alan Rickman or Javier Bardem. I'm sure IMDB will provide exceptions to the rule, but their natural habit is to play bad guys. This is their thing.
In tennis, Novak Djokovic will forever remain a villain, despite all his desperate attempts to win the love of Wimbledon center court. And in rugby, Farrell seems destined to remain in that role for the rest of his career. As Rickman once said as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, in his most iconic villain role, “John Wayne isn't riding off into the sunset with Grace Kelly this time.”
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