For all Owen Farrell’s qualities, taking compliments is not one of them. He readily admits as much and as he prepares to win his 100th England cap against New Zealand this weekend, Farrell is that little bit more eager for Saturday to come than usual. For the fanfare to stop, the glare of the spotlight to dissipate and to get lost in the thick of the action.
For Farrell is never happier than when he loses himself between the white lines. Across an international career spanning 10 years and 99 appearances for his country, Farrell has come to crave that feeling that a lot of elite sportspeople do. When his mind is clear, when everything seems to slow down around him, when he enters “the zone”. Farrell talks as if it is almost addictive, he compares it to his wedding day in the way that it just goes by in a blur and with the All Blacks the visitors to Twickenham on Saturday for only the third time since Farrell began his international career, the stage is set for him to lose himself all over again.
