Former England captain Owen Farrell is set to depart Saracens, his lifelong club, at the conclusion of the season, having secured a deal with French heavyweights Racing 92.
Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
The England international, currently on a break from Test rugby to focus on his mental health, has been negotiating with the six-time French champions regarding a move to the Top 14. Farrell’s contract with Saracens will expire at the end of the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership season.
Farrell, 32, has earned 112 caps for England and served as captain during the 2018 summer Test series in South Africa before officially succeeding Dylan Hartley for the following year’s Six Nations.
After England’s third-place finish at last year’s Rugby World Cup, Farrell chose to step away from international rugby.
His upcoming move to France will render him ineligible for national selection, due to RFU regulations that prevent head coach Steve Borthwick from selecting players based abroad.
Despite rumours, reports from L’Equipe indicate that Farrell will actually be taking a pay cut at Racing 92. While he was earning approximately £800,000 per season as one of Saracens’ marquee players, fresh reports suggest his salary at the Parisian club will be around £685,000 per season, contrary to earlier speculation of a £1 million per season deal.
Farrell got into heated argument with England teammate, they haven’t got on since
England fly-half Owen Farrell is never afraid of sharing an opinion or two – especially when it’s about someone he doesn’t particularly like.
#1. Dave Attwood
The Bath lock won the last of his 24 caps for England back in 2016, which could have a lot to do with his relationship with the current England captain.
“He had a bit of a shout at me and went off to the toilet and I followed him.
“We all had a drink or two after the game but we didn’t need to get carried away with this. I was in the urinal behind the door and he was three or four down and as I got in his dad walked in as well, he was coaching at the time. He was, ‘I don’t want to fuckin’ hear it’ or something like that and as he walked out he went to open the door and slam it into the back of me. There was like a stop on the floor so it hit the stop and almost clocked him back…
“We never really addressed it after that. That was where it started and it was like a drunken little bit of argy that went too far. He is an incredibly competitive athlete and he is also very f**kin’ good, he has got high standards. He is a very competitive athlete and in order to be that good, you have to flirt on the wrong side of competitive.
“So whenever we play each other there is always some element in the game where one of us is running at the other one or we are trying to bang each other. There always seems to be an element of that to it. I am sure he is like, I don’t even know that Dave is playing.”