sport news CHRIS FOY: England ready to stop being so uptight after Farrell and Borthwick ... trends now
England seem ready to stop being so uptight. That was the logical conclusion when Owen Farrell started joking about being a pushy parent — and one of his sons wearing an Ireland shirt.
This was new territory. Farrell was at the Six Nations official launch with Steve Borthwick and the pair of them were open and engaging, even after several hours in front of cameras.
The captain and head coach of the national team are both renowned as relentlessly intense characters, but here they were casting aside stern-faced masks to reveal a hidden human side.
Parenthood has allowed Owen Farrell to mellow slightly and gain valuable perspective
During their ill-fated autumn campaign which preceded Eddie Jones’s abrupt dismissal, England kept talking about the need to lighten up, relax and play with freedom — without quite managing to do so for any prolonged period.
Well, the early indications are that they may achieve this target under Borthwick’s new regime by embracing an effective work-life balance.
Farrell has always been notoriously cagey and guarded in public, wary of giving any insight into his true nature or his life away from rugby. Probing questions have tended to be met by exasperated resistance. But there has been a gradual shift of late and now, for the first time, he has spoken openly about his family.
Hearing Farrell offer a light-hearted glimpse into his off-field world suggested that parenthood has allowed him to mellow — just slightly — and gain valuable perspective.
England players have spoken about the need to lighten up, relax and play with freedom
Asked how he relaxes away from training and matches, the England skipper said: ‘I’ve got a young family so that helps. We have two little boys (Tommy, three, and Freddie, one). It’s hard to be anywhere else when you are in their company. That’s a brilliant thing for me.’
When Farrell returns to his home in Hertfordshire during the fleeting breaks from the England camp in the weeks ahead, he will be able to switch off from the maelstrom of a Six Nations campaign.
‘When you get into that dinner time, bath time, bed time routine from about 5pm, you are in for it then — there’s no getting out of that,’ he joked.
‘I’ve got two little lads who love running around, going to the park, being outside. I don’t know if I’m forcing it on him, but I’m trying to get my eldest to the driving range a little bit. He seems to like it, but I don’t know if that’s me just telling myself that!’
Steve Borthwick has spoken with passion and honesty since taking the England job
Farrell talked about how spending time with his family was a
