sport news Owen Farrell leaves the door ajar for potential England return... but outgoing ... trends now
There was a smile on Owen Farrell’s face as he took his seat in the back-room at Old Albanians Rugby Club for his first interview since the World Cup. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this,’ said the No 10, with a knowing smirk. Press conferences have never been his cup of tea but he can joke about it now there are not many left before he leaves English rugby.
A weight has been lifted off his shoulders since he gave up the England captaincy and it showed through his words. The booing and the intense scrutiny has been left behind.
He immediately spoke about having the time to fly to fly to Dublin to watch his younger brother, Gabriel, playing for the Under 12s – the sort of tale he would previously have kept private.
‘He’s No8 for Belvedere …I’ve never watched him play before. It's been nice to spend some time with my family during the Six Nations. Nice to sit back a bit and try and enjoy the games.’
Owen Farrell has left the door ajar for an England and Saracens return, with the fly-half set to join Racing 92 at the end of the season
The 32-year-old admitted he was 'happy' with the decision to leave Saracens, after 15 seasons
Farrell was pictured in the stands at Twickenham as he watched England beat Ireland, with his dad, Andy, the head coach of the Irish national side
The enjoyment had begun to wane but Farrell sat in the stands for England's victory over Ireland and felt an 'itch' to be back on the pitch.
He will move to Paris at the end of the season but he spoke about his refreshed ambitions, leaving the door ajar for a potential England comeback in years to come.
‘I am happy enough,’ he said. ‘You sit there and watch any massive game like that was and wish you wanted to be involved but I am happy with the decision at the moment.
‘Obviously the World Cup was difficult at times. I deleted social media for the whole of the World Cup, and you still kind of feel that it’s there.
'I was just trying to get back to enjoying myself, trying to get back to enjoying my rugby, trying to get back to loving what I’m doing. I’m working to doing that.
‘This place is not an easy place to leave. This place has been my home for as long as I can remember. I have a lot of good, good friends here. I have been here with people for 14 years. It wasn’t an easy decision
