Owen Farrell is set to return to Gallagher Premiership action on Saturday, after a lengthy ankle injury which has seen him on the sidelines since November; Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has hailed Farrell as a "force of nature" on both the club and international stage
Friday 25 March 2022 13:27, UK
Owen Farrell will return for Saracens this Saturday, having been named to start against Bristol after being out of action since November with an ankle injury sustained on England duty.
The Saracens and England captain was injured in England's 32-15 victory over Australia last year, and then hurt his other ankle while training for his club in January, leading to him undergoing surgery.
As Sarries prepare to face Bristol in Saturday's Gallagher Premiership match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Friday's team news listed Farrell starting at No 10 and captaining the side:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Max Malins, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Aled Davies; 1 Richard Barrington, 2 Jamie George, 3 Vincent Koch, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 6 Jackson Wray, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Andy Christie, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Sean Maitland
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall confirmed earlier in the week Farrell was nearing full fitness: "Owen has been training over the last couple of weeks and fingers crossed he will be available for selection again on Saturday.
"He's been in team training seasons for about two weeks. We'll assess him tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday and make sure everything is OK.
"He's the captain of the club and he's obviously a great player, everybody knows that and for him personally it's great as well.
"He loves playing rugby and he hasn't played much. If he does play, he's certainly looking forward to it. We're chuffed to have him back."
Farrell's lengthy stint on the sidelines meant he had to miss the Guinness Six Nations, in which England finished third, with Grand Slam winners France finishing the tournament victorious.
Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith was the standout performer for England, who many saw as replacing the injured Farrell and staking his claim for the No 10 shirt.
With many before the tournament questioning whether Farrell can still perform on the international stage, calling for a fresher line-up to be introduced, McCall defended his captain and hailed the "Test-match animal".
"I can just talk about the leader and the player that I know really and it's for others to draw conclusions as to how valuable that is to his country," said McCall.
"The leader I know is sensational, I've never come across someone who can lead the way he does. He can lead by example, he can lead vocally but he's got the clarity of thought to understand if something is wrong, what needs to be fixed, he finds solutions to problems better than most.
"He articulates that with his team-mates better than most and he's an inspiration, so as captain he's rare and unique, I think.
"As a player, he's a force of nature. The bigger the game, the better he is. He's a Test-match animal. Nothing brings the best out of him more than a huge game of rugby and certainly we've missed him over this period."
Although Farrell was absent from the Guinness Six Nations, his Saracens team-mates Nick Isiekewe, Maro Itoje, Elliot Daly and Max Malins were all called up to the side, with McCall confirming that all four have returned unscathed.
He praised their ability to "get stuck in" to their club rugby after international tournaments, but admits their workloads are something he will have to look at throughout the duration of the season.
"Historically our players have been superb coming back to the club after a Six Nations and just getting stuck in," he said.
"But we're also conscious of the fact that, especially the last two games they've played in (defeats to Ireland and France), they've taken some kind of emotional toll on those players.
"They're human beings and not robots and to expect them to just jump from international rugby straight into club rugby is something we've got to consider with our selection.
"We're not in the Champions Cup this year, that makes a difference for us, it allows us the luxury of maybe resting them down the line rather than right away but we will make those decisions after the training session today."
