Owen Farrell’s England future remains uncertain with head coach Steve Borthwick unsure of a timeframe for the captain’s Test return.
Farrell has opted to step down from England duty due to mental health reasons after leading the Red Rose men to a third-place finish at last year’s Rugby World Cup in France.
The 32-year-old fly-half will continue to captain Saracens but will not feature for England in the upcoming Six Nations – entirely by his own design.
Farrell has made no specific plans for a Test return so far, but England boss Borthwick remains hopeful that the 112-cap playmaker will be back in Test action in future.
“We’re all hopeful he’ll return to the England team at some point soon, but that’s going to be a decision that Owen makes,” said Borthwick.
“I believe Owen knows he has all of our support and that we will do anything we can do and deliver anything that he needs at any point in time.
“I am really hopeful that he does return. I think we all hope, as England supporters we all hope he does – this is one of England’s greatest-ever players, greatest-ever captains.
“I am hopeful he will return to play for England again. That will be his decision, and I made that really clear to him, but also I made it really clear there is no pressure on him. That’s his decision, at the time that’s right for him.
“Any team in the world would miss an Owen Farrell. But the work he has done to help create a foundation over these last months, to help reset the England team and move forward, that is part of his legacy through the World Cup.”
Borthwick already talking about Farrell’s legacy sits in stark contrast to a player with both age and quality on his side to carry on and play at the next World Cup, in 2027.
The magnitude of a situation where the England captain steps away from his dream job due in part to online abuse has not been lost at all on a frustrated Borthwick. The England boss pledged to continue to put increased support behind the country’s top stars.
“Owen and I spoke right at the end of the World Cup, we were actually in Paris,” said Borthwick.
“We took a walk, and he shared some of his thoughts and what he was thinking at that point in time. Then he took a period of reflecting and we met a couple of weeks later and he told me of his decision to step away.
“The first thing I’ll say there is I’m full of admiration for this guy, as a man, a player and a leader. It takes a lot of courage to do what he’s done.
"For people to endure that, to drive people out of the game is just appalling"
“As we reflect, in England alone we’ve seen a player and two match officials step away at the top of their game because of certain issues. There are societal issues here that are going on. The online hate that is spread is not okay, it’s not right.
“For people to have to endure that, their families to have to endure that, to drive people out of the game is just appalling. I don’t have the answers to it, but I do know it’s wrong and they’re not true rugby fans that are saying this stuff.
“This is fast paced, and changing, and I don’t think any of us expected what happened at that World Cup in that area, or for it to be at that level of vitriol against certain people and certain teams.
“We’ve looked really closely at what support we give for our players, management team, the officials, the families of everyone involved in the team. There is a big area there where we’re looking to ensure we’re maximising every bit of support we can get.”
