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Peter Stringer: 'Hothead' Farrell to be targeted by Ireland
By Online Editors
Former 98-test halfback Peter Stringer has labelled England captain Owen Farrell as a 'hothead' in the lead-up to the blockbuster Six Nations opener between Ireland and England in Dublin this weekend.
The ex-Ireland international's comments comes in the wake of a turbulent couple of days where a war of words has been instigated by members of the England coaching staff.
England defence coach John Mitchell yesterday claimed that Ireland will try to 'bore' his side into defeat, while head coach Eddie Jones has suggested that Irish pivot Johnny Sexton receives preferential treatment from officials.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Stringer said that Farrell, of whom he played with during a loan spell at Saracens in 2011, is prone to being easily wound-up, which would be an attribute of which Ireland would target at Aviva Stadium.
"Eddie will have them fired up, and you see the likes of Owen Farrell: he's in charge of everything they do, being captain and having all that responsibility, but he is a hothead," he said.
"I've played with him, he loves that physical side of things, but you can get under his skin, you can rattle him. He is a guy they'll be looking to get after.
"If things go well for Farrell, on the front foot he's a great player but going backward he's a guy who loses the rag completely, which you don't want from your captain."
Farrell will return to the English starting side after recovering from thumb surgery, while others, such as Brad Shields, Joe Cokanasiga and Ben Te'o, are all expected to sit out after sustaining various injuries.
Coaches talk at Six Nations Launch:
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Latest Comments
I think we need to get innovative with the new laws.
Now red cards are only 20 minutes, Razor should send Finau on a head hunting mission to hospitalise their 10 with a shoulder to the chops.
Give the conspiracy theorists a win.
Go to commentsEngland played well enough to win but couldnt score when they needed to and couldnt defend a couple of X-Factor moments from Telea which was ultimately the difference. They needed to hold the ball more and make the AB's make more tackles. Territorially they were good for the first 60. Defending their lead and playing pragmatic rugby in the last 20 was silly. The AB's always had the potential to come back. England still have a long way to go, definite progress would have been shown had they won but it seems they are still stuck where they were shortly after the six nations and their tour to NZ
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