Owen Farrell is criticised unfairly and should receive greater acclaim after leading England into the World Cup semi-finals, according to attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.
Farrell vindicated his selection ahead of George Ford at fly-half with a man-of-the-match display in Sunday’s 30-24 victory over Fiji, landing a crucial drop-goal and penalty as part of a 20-point haul.
England’s captain kicked and passed with accuracy throughout and had a hand in Manu Tuilagi’s opening try – all in defiance of the booing that greeted his name being read out on the pre-match tannoy at Stade Velodrome.
The fans’ response was typical of a player who divides opinion, but he was outstanding as England dug themselves out of trouble against Fiji and Wigglesworth feels he does not get the credit he deserves.
“We are lucky to have Owen. As ever, the tallest trees catch the most wind and he seems to catch a fair bit of it,” Wigglesworth said.
“He’s proven time and time and time again and I don’t understand why in England we feel the need to not celebrate that, not enjoy it, just because he’s not sat in front of social media or the media lapping all that up.
“He is incredibly serious abut his career, he is an incredibly proud Englishman. He affects any team he is in and he was brilliant for us – as we knew he would be.
“That was the maddening part of any noise. We knew what was coming from him.”
South Africa await in the last four and enter the rematch of the 2019 final as strong favourites following their monumental victory over France in Paris on Sunday night.
The tournament has lost its magic with the demise of France, Fiji and Ireland, but England will not care as they continue to surpass expectations, progressing as the only unbeaten team.
A fifth appearance in the final appears an unlikely prospect, however, with Wigglesworth aware of the challenge ahead.
“How special is it to be able to beat France, with the form they are in and in their own backyard? That was a special performance from an incredible team,” Wigglesworth said.
“We are probably talking about one of the best rugby teams to ever do it aren’t we? The strength of their game and how they play is well known, but in the last year or so you’ve seen a massive evolution in what they do.
“They’ve started adding things to their game with how they move the ball and how they exit, all different things so they’ve now got more variety.
“They’ve got multiple threats now and that’s probably why they are aiming to be one of the best ever.”
England are hoping to have a clean bill of health against South Africa with players undergoing medical checks on Monday morning.
