Trolling takes a big toll on Owen

WORLD RUGBY MUST ACT

- Alex Spink

THE clue was out there - just not in Owen Farrell's own unflinching reaction to being vilified on social media.

Back in the England's captain was prepared to give the keyboard warriors the satisfaction of thinking they had got to him.

Only when team-mate Tom Curry and his family faced death threats and a vicious pile-on for daring to report an alleged racial slur at the World Cup could Farrell bite his tongue no more.

"You are dealing with a human being," the 32-year-old said. "Just because you are saying stuff on your phone or behind a screen doesn't make it acceptable.