Owen Farrell’s critics – and he has always had his fair share – will say it has been a matter of time but had Steve Borthwick made a list of scenarios to be avoided at all costs for this block of World Cup warm-up matches, a red card for his captain for a high tackle would have been top of it. Farrell is facing a ban at a disciplinary hearing that will almost certainly rule him out of the start of the World Cup. Mitigation will be limited given his previous and as he has already attended tackle school he cannot return. Make no mistake, this is a colossal headache for Borthwick.
The irony is that England’s late rally gives them something on which to hang their hats. This victory, the manner in which they kept their heads in the final 20 minutes, is a demonstrable sign of progress, for it was a problem that Eddie Jones tried and failed to solve. But this is a warm-up match, a pre‑season fixture in effect. That Farrell will miss England’s next two matches for his high tackle on Taine Basham and quite possibly their opening two World Cup pool games is little short of cataclysmic, given the way in which Borthwick has backed his fly-half and captain.
It’s an issue that has dogged Farrell all of his career. He has never been able to escape questions about his tackle technique and there has always been the suspicion that an incident like this would come in England colours. If there is a saving grace it is that it did not happen in the World Cup proper but Farrell can expect intense scrutiny of his tackling in the coming weeks and months. Kevin Sinfield, England’s defence coach, and one of his predecessors, John Mitchell, have both talked at length about the work Farrell does to improve it but perception is everything.
“He’d be a big loss to England if he does have a lengthy ban,” said the Wales head coach, Warren Gatland. “Given his previous I’m not too sure what’s going to happen with that, fingers crossed it’s not long for him.”
There is the incident on André Esterhuizen in 2018 during England’s narrow win over South Africa that stands out, so too two red cards on Saracens duty, one for clothes-lining Wasps’s Charlie Atkinson, the other for a high shot on Gloucester’s Jack Clement just before the start of the Six Nations. Back then there can little doubt that the RFU gamed the system to ensure Farrell was available for the entire campaign. The cynic’s view is that Farrell’s expected ban is comeuppance, and that it had to be confirmed via the bunker review system, after which he was seen trudging down the tunnel, only added to the sense of drama.
The silver lining was the cameo of George Ford, who is now the favourite for the No 10 jersey for the World Cup opener against Argentina. He spearheaded Leicester’s Premiership-winning title campaign under Borthwick and there was always the sense that he would play a key role under his former club coach. He came on here before the hour mark, Borthwick no doubt keen to see how he dovetailed with Farrell back in their 10-12 partnership. He didn’t get much of a chance to see that but he did witness Ford give an assured performance to drag England back into the game. Might this be one of those sliding doors moments? Does Farrell get back into this side? Probably, but Ford now has an opportunity he has waited for patiently. “That’s Steve’s decision,” said Ford of stepping into the No 10 jersey. “What I do won’t change. Since coming in six or seven weeks ago, I’ve tried to take a bit of a lead and help as much as I can.”
Farrell’s absence is a problem for Borthwick for a number of reasons. He named Farrell as his World Cup captain well in advance of when was necessary. It was a statement of intent, that this is a team built in Farrell’s mould, back at fly-half, his side. It is also a problem because there is the scope for distraction in the coming weeks.
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His hearing will be this week, all the while Borthwick must prepare England to face Ireland next Saturday. If he does receive a four-match ban then the earliest he can play is against Chile at the World Cup, a match that Borthwick surely had earmarked for Marcus Smith. If the ban is anything more than that, would Borthwick consider leaving him out of the squad entirely? Players in the squad who are not available can often hold the rest back and Borthwick cannot allow this to be something akin to another metatarsal moment for England.
If he does, this will be a match he reflects on for all the wrong reasons but there remains the possibility he does so for positive ones instead. Time and again under Jones, England could not right a listing ship. That they did so here, in such dramatic fashion, when down to 12 players at one point, shows that the clarity that Borthwick insists he is instilling is bearing fruit. That it took the dismissal and expected suspension of his key lieutenant, however, was not a price worth paying.
