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'Great move': How English media reacted to Owen Farrell's Racing 92 deal
By Ben Smith
French club Racing 92 have confirmed England fly-half Owen Farrell will join them next season just two weeks after a public statement shot down the potential move.
The two-year deal for the 32-year-old will see the England captain leave Saracens after 15 seasons where he has played since he was 17 years old.
Farrell, who has stood down from England duties and will already miss the Six Nations in order to prioritise his mental well-being, will become ineligible for international selection due to Rugby Football Union rules.
It could spell the end of his 112-cap England career with no guarantees that Farrell will return to England rugby. However, he could still represent the British & Irish Lions in 2025 while contracted with Racing.
The news was met with praise by UK's rugby media with rugby union correspondent Chris Foy of the Daily Mail describing the deal as a "great move" for the last phase of his career.
RugbyPass writer Chris Jones shot down the traitorous narrative around the deal, claiming it was purely a business decision by a professional athlete that came down to numbers at the end of the day.
Rugby commentator Nick Mullins said it was "hard to imagine" the flyhalf turning out for England again with Farrell's age being a factor at the end of the deal.
Whilst he could also re-sign in France or abroad elsewhere at the conclusion, he will be 34 when he is a free agent again should he return to England.
The reaction from fans was equally supportive of Farrell, rugby player Ollie Stedman believed Farrell doesn't get the respect he deserves as one of England's greatest players, also claiming "England rugby is all but dead" following the decision.
A statement by Racing 92 confirming the deal reads: “Racing 92 formalizes the signing of Owen FARRELL (32 years old) within its professional men’s team. The English international player is committed to 2 sporting seasons and will join the Ciel et Blanc squad from July 1, 2024.”
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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