THOSE WHO WANT OWEN FARRELL TO FAIL SHOULD BEWARE. BETTER TO ENJOY HIM WHILE WE STILL CAN

The Saracens and England great has more class in one fingernail than the naysayers who denounce his achievements

- STEPHEN JONES

OWEN FARRELL is back in England and in English rugby, and back in the Saracens jersey after one season away. You are tempted to shout that everybody should duck.

At this stage we can nail some colours to the mast. I have reported on England for many years, seen them weak or boring at fly-half. Farrell is one of the most significant English players of the past 50 years, one of the toughest mentally and physically; one of the best goalkickers, especially when the kick is critical, and a magnificent tactician at club and national level, and with the British & Irish Lions.

There. Got it? I think he developed all those talents. He didn’t always have that armoury but he developed the full package.

Yet when it was announced that he was returning and cutting short what turned out to be only a gap year at Racing in Paris, you could sense the hackles rising. You could sense the sizeable legion of supporters around the world - staggeringly, including some England supporters - who don’t like him and who have even been known to abuse him at matches.

During the previous World Cup in France - France should have won it, but that's another story - the usual cascade of booing greeted Farrell whenever he played. Unless I was very much mistaken, there were occasional bursts of booing from England sections of stadiums, which was contemptible.

Sometimes you experience the reception that he receives, the weakness of the overheated media (yes, me and my lot) who will seize on anything he says or does as if he had stolen the Crown Jewels.

And you wonder what you have missed in his career. Did he headbutt someone? Has he been involved in match fixing? Has he been in some kind of gigantic sexual mess? Or perhaps he turned down a spot on Strictly. Something really serious like that.