Kevin Sinfield: The 'one in 2,000 tackles' verdict on Owen Farrell

Kevin Sinfield has urged England fans not to turn on Owen Farrell after recalling the vilification of David Beckham after the 1998 World Cup. Farrell has seen his red card for a dangerous challenge in Saturday’s Summer Nations Series victory over Wales overturned in a shock disciplinary verdict that clears him to play against Ireland this weekend.

Sinfield believes the criticism Farrell has faced since he was sent off at Twickenham is more intense because of his status as England captain and draws a similarity to Beckham’s dismissal for kicking Argentina’s Diego Simeone 25 years ago.

When Beckham returned from the World Cup in France, he experienced a nasty backlash from disgruntled supporters to the point that an effigy of the Manchester United midfielder dangled from a hangman’s noose near Upton Park.

“Owen is England captain and he understands that it is part of the territory,” England defence coach Sinfield said. “In any sport, if you are England captain the noise and the heat, the magnitude of it is bigger than if it were anyone else.

“I’ll go back a long, long time to the 1998 World Cup when Beckham gets sent off. If it had been any other player, it probably wouldn’t have been the same.

“I’m not suggesting that Owen is like Beckham at all. I don’t even think that Beckham was England captain at that time. But there are certain players who get a lot of heat. I don’t think Owen overly puts himself out there. He is a really good guy who wants to get better and wants to help the team. Some of it I don’t understand.

“I understand some of the noise. Some of it I don’t get either. You guys have tried to hang him when it is one poorly-timed tackle. We need to get some balance to this. If it is Owen, the heat that is generated is far greater than if it was anyone else.”

Farrell was banned as recently as January for a high tackle on Gloucester’s Jack Clement and was also suspended in 2016 and 2020 for the same offence. Sinfield insists those challenges are anomalies.

“I know how hard Owen is working on his tackle technique and I know what he has done through the Six Nations, and with Saracens,” Sinfield said.

“This is a guy who wants to improve and get better. He has made one mistake. Players are human. Owen has worked incredibly hard. Since our last incident, he has probably been involved in about 2,000 tackles.

“I have overseen the vast majority of them as he has been with us. He has been exceptional. Referees get things wrong, we all get things wrong in this room, we know that, and Owen is human.

“It may happen again and if it does I would ask that it is judged fairly. This is probably one in 2,000 tackles he has got wrong.”