George Ford will never forget the first time he played against Owen Farrell. As a young lad playing junior rugby league for Saddleworth Rangers against Wigan St Patricks it did not take him or his teammates long to spot the looming threat. “We were all just stood there and you could see this lad towering over everyone. We were like: ‘He’s not playing, is he? He’s miles older than everyone.’ But it turned out he did play and he killed us. He scored a handful of tries in the first half and got told to temper it down in the second.”
And now here they come again, still on opposing sides with Ford at the tactical helm for Sale and Farrell in the box seat for Saracens on the highest-profile stage in domestic club union.
If there remains a slight physical disparity, the more diminutive Ford represents the biggest obstacle to Saracens’ hopes of a first Premiership title since 2019 in a contest which could also help to shape England’s Rugby World Cup strategy this year.
No game of rugby is ever entirely decided by one head-to-head battle but this is a fixture that Ford, in particular, has been awaiting for a while. Last year ,when playing for Leicester, he was forced out of the final early on with a torn achilles, leaving his deputy Freddie Burns to clinch victory with a last-gasp drop-goal. While Saracens clearly have their own unfinished business, the same definitely applies to the 30-year-old Ford.
Technically, according to his director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, there is barely anything to choose between the two old friends, who once lived next door to each other when their fathers moved south to work at Saracens. “They’re very similar in terms of a lot of the attributes that make them superlative players. Their decision making is second to none, their standards are higher than everyone else’s. As a result they look to drive others to meet those standards.”
When pressed, though, Sanderson highlights a couple of crucial differences. “Owen is highly emotional and aggressive when needed. I think he thrives off that. My experience with George is that people will follow him for who he is. There’s a softer tone about him and a more persuasive manner that inspires people in a slightly different way. We were already good but George has added to the team by way of his calmness in adversity and his clear direction. I don’t know if we get that with Faz. We definitely get clarity, we definitely get drive … but there’s a calm aura around George which serves our team really well.”
Farrell, either way, leads a side who have recast themselves this season: less rigid, more tactically open-minded and prepared to take a calculated risk. They did not finish top of the table by accident and last year’s final experience has made them even more determined to maximise this latest opportunity. “We don’t want to come off the field feeling like that again,” said Farrell. “We want to be good enough to play any way the game demands and we feel like we have taken a step forward with that this year.”
It makes a sixth Premiership title for Farrell more likely than not unless Sale’s forwards can gain early set-piece momentum. This is Saracens’ ninth final since 2009-10 and they still possess sufficient depth to be able to bench two British & Irish Lions, Mako Vunipola and Elliot Daly. Ford, though, is backing Sale to make a real game of it in front of an expected 60,000 crowd.
“We understand we’re coming up against a world-class team and a world-class fly-half. But we’re confident ourselves that we’re going to perform really well.” The Ford-Farrell duel should be worth the entry price alone.
