Owen Farrell possesses the drive to one day resume his England career and could remain in rugby for the rest of his life, according to Saracens boss Mark McCall.
Long-serving England captain Farrell will become ineligible for international selection under Rugby Football Union rules when he joins French club Racing 92 on a two-year contract in the summer.
After sitting out the Guinness Six Nations to prioritise his mental health, the 32-year-old is set to return to competitive action on Saturday in the Gallagher Premiership clash with London rivals Harlequins.
Saracens director of rugby McCall believes Farrell is capable of remaining at the top level for the foreseeable future, including eventually adding to the 112 caps he was won for his country.
“There are very few players who can and I think he is one of them,” said McCall.
“But you have got to have the drive to do that, you’ve got to have the competitive spirit to do that – I think he has that.
“He can keep going for as long as that drive and competitive spirit is there.”
Fly-half Farrell has spent his entire career with Saracens and is poised to make his 250th appearance for the club in this weekend’s derby against Quins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Regardless of what happens over the next 10 weeks, his legacy is firmly established here,” said McCall, who joined Sarries in 2009 when Farrell was still a teenager.
“He’s done everything and achieved everything here.
“And to go and explore the opportunity that he is in France and experience something different with his family, I think is a great thing to do at this stage of his career.
“I can’t imagine Owen Farrell not being in rugby for the rest of his life, to be honest.
“Given the rugby IQ that he has, the motivational ability that he has, the brilliant communicator that he is, the good person that he is, you could see him stepping into coaching very readily and we hope in time that might be here.”
Farrell opted to step out of the limelight after last year’s Rugby World Cup in France following intense scrutiny.
“The break was important for him,” said McCall. “He’s had a personally very difficult time.
“Maybe it’s him being brave enough to talk about it, which is not easy to do for most people, certainly not somebody like Owen.
“I think at least it’s maybe changed the dial a small bit.
“When people talk about England now, it’s never as bad as people are saying and it’s never as good as some people are saying. It’s somewhere in the middle but no one ever reports it that way.
“I think Owen’s bravery in telling people how he felt was a good thing.
“We almost forbade him from coming (into training) because he needed some respite and needed to go and do some things with his family, some things that were not rugby related. He is now free to throw himself into the rest of the season.”
McCall revealed Saracens have identified a replacement for Farrell and expects an official announcement in the coming weeks.
“It has been a fascinating project trying to find the right person,” he said.
“We wanted to look for someone that we believed had the potential and the personality to be part of this team for a while. We think we have found the right person.”
The Rugby Championship: Springboks target trophy in Santiago
Not since 2019 have South Africa held the Rugby Championship title, but Saturday could be the day as they head to Argentina knowing victory will seal their fifth crown.
Rassie Erasmus' Springboks have been perfect in the competition thus far, making it four wins from four games with their 18-12 victory over New Zealand two weeks ago.
Standing in their way, though, are a Pumas side that have enjoyed a terrific campaign, handing Australia the heaviest defeat in their storied Test history last time out.
The Wallabies will be desperate to respond in matchweek five's other contest, and a victory over the All Blacks would help them off the bottom of the standings after a difficult campaign.
Ahead of the penultimate round of fixtures, we dive into the best Opta facts and figures to preview both games.
AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND
Australia were utterly humiliated by Argentina last time out, the game running away from them in the second half as they succumbed to a record-breaking 67-27 defeat, having earlier led by 17 points.
Joe Schmidt's team are up against it as they bid to bounce back this weekend. The Wallabies have only won one of their last 12 Tests against New Zealand, drawing one and losing 10.
The All Blacks have won each of the last seven meetings between the teams by an average margin of 17.4 points per game. The last time they enjoyed a longer winning run against their neighbours was a 10-match span between August 2008 and September 2010.
They also boast a tremendous record in Sydney, where this week's contest takes place. New Zealand have only lost one of their last 10 Tests against Australia in the city, winning the last four while averaging 44.3 points per game.
Australia have themselves, however, won their last two Tests in Sydney, as many victories as they managed in their 15 games in the city prior to that span (two wins, one draw, 12 defeats).
And New Zealand have not exactly been faultless on their travels lately, losing three of their last four Tests on foreign soil, including their last two – both in South Africa in this year's Rugby Championship.
If the All Blacks are to halt their miserable run on the road, their ability to create turnovers could be key.
Their 23 turnovers won in the 2024 Rugby Championship are more than any other team, while their four tries scored from turnovers won are second only to Argentina's five.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Australia – Marika Koroibete
Koroibete has made four line breaks in this year's Rugby Championship tournament, the joint-most of any player this campaign (also Beauden Barrett, with four for New Zealand).
He has recorded at least one in each of his three games in the tournament, after making only two line breaks across his six Test matches before this year's competition began.
New Zealand – Damian McKenzie
McKenzie has made 10 break assists in the Rugby Championship this year, at least four more than any other player in the tournament.
In addition, he has been directly involved in a try on each of his last three starting appearances in Tests against Australia (one try, two try assists) – will he haunt the Wallabies again here?
ARGENTINA V SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa have dominated from the off in this year's edition of the Rugby Championship, scoring 112 points but, most impressively, allowing their opponents just 58 through their four outings to date.
Another victory on Saturday would take them second in the outright charts for most Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship titles, ahead of Australia but behind New Zealand (20).
It would also bring up their outright longest winning run in the history of the Rugby Championship, at six games. History is on their side in Santiago, with the Springboks having won their last eight Tests against Argentina by an average margin of 15.4 points per game.
They were given a scare when the teams last met in August 2023, though, trailing 10-3 at half-time before rallying to secure a 24-13 victory.
Los Pumas may need something incredible to overhaul South Africa in the standings from here, but they will be on a real high following their thumping win over Australia.
Of the last six occasions where Argentina have scored 50 or more points in a Test, they have followed up with a victory four times, including in their last two such matches.
Felipe Contepomi's team have scored a half-century of points twice in 2024, last doing so on three occasions back in 2015.
They will not expect a repeat against South Africa's fearsome defence, but they could trouble the visitors with their physicality.
Los Pumas have scored three tries when starting their possession from a scrum in this year's Rugby Championship, as many as all the other teams combined (South Africa two, New Zealand one).
South Africa, meanwhile, have made a habit of praying on their opponent's mistakes, making 11 kicks in play that resulted in an opposition error, more than twice as many as Argentina, who are second by that metric with five.
The Springboks have also retained possession from 26 in-play kicks, at least 15 more than any other team in the competition, with Argentina and New Zealand logging 11 apiece and Australia recording eight.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Argentina – Tomas Albornoz
Albornoz has gained 98.4 metres per 80 minutes from his 152 minutes played in the Rugby Championship this year – the most of any player in the campaign.
South Africa – Ruan Nortje
Nortje (26 – including two steals) and team-mate Eben Etzebeth (21, one steal) have won more lineouts (including steals) than any other players in the Rugby Championship this year.
Wallabies will get things right before Lions tour, promises Rugby Australia chief
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh is confident the Wallabies will be ready to compete with the British and Irish Lions next year, despite suffering the heaviest defeat in their Test history last time out.
Australia were crushed 67-27 by Argentina in the Rugby Championship last time out, their third defeat in four games in this year's tournament.
They were also dumped out of last year's Rugby World Cup in the pool stage following losses to Fiji and Wales, and they are down to ninth in the World Rugby Rankings.
The British and Irish Lions will face Australia in three Tests when they tour down under between June and August next year, with many fearing Joe Schmidt's team will be blown away.
Waugh, however, says there is plenty of time for the Wallabies to get things right before then, telling the Sydney Morning Herald: "You can see the progress is there.
"It is not nearly where we need it to be, but if we keep progressing at the speed with which we have moved things in the last six months, then there is plenty of time.
"It is a team that is, and I hate using the word 're-building', but it is a team that is re-setting, and it takes experience in big moments to get better.
"Obviously, the enormity of the scoreline in that second half was disappointing.
"But there is context that is important... we are not the most experienced team in world rugby, and we are building that experience."
Australia conclude their Rugby Championship campaign with two fixtures against New Zealand before the end of September, then face England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in their Autumn International Tests in November.
Australia 'fell off a cliff' in biggest-ever Test defeat
Australia suffered their biggest-ever Test defeat on Saturday, as Argentina came from behind to win 67-27 in the Rugby Championship.
And Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said his team simply "fell off a cliff" after taking a 17-point lead.
Having snapped an eight-game winless run in the Rugby Championship with their last-gasp victory over Argentina last week, Australia were looking to keep the momentum going.
And they looked well set to do just that as tries from Carlo Tizzano and Andrew Kellaway propelled them into a 20-3 lead.
But Mateo Carreras and Julian Montoya, who was playing for Argentina for the 100th time, dragged Argentina back into it and paved the way for Australia's capitulation after the break.
Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo, Juan Cruz Mallia and Lucio Cinti all crossed for the Pumas in the second half, with Santiago Carreras' conversion condemning Australia to their record defeat.
"To lead a Test match 20-3 and get run down in the manner which we did is really disappointing," said Schmidt.
"We cannot let a game get away from us like it did and fall off a cliff.
"We lost connection in our defensive line. We were forever chasing them.
"We didn't put enough pressure on at the breakdown, so they were operating off a lightning-quick ball, and it's just too difficult to keep chasing a team on a hot day when they’ve got the ball and going forward."
Australia's previous record Test defeat had come against South Africa in 1997.
Matters do not get any easier for the Wallabies, who now face two matches against Schmidt's native New Zealand as they aim to avoid finishing bottom of the pile.
Second-place Argentina, meanwhile, will tussle it out with Rugby Championship leaders South Africa.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
