{"id":297347,"date":"2023-12-06T20:25:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T20:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=297347"},"modified":"2023-12-06T20:25:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T20:25:29","slug":"farrell-set-for-first-saracens-game-since-stepping-away-from-test-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/farrell-set-for-first-saracens-game-since-stepping-away-from-test-duty\/","title":{"rendered":"Farrell set for first Saracens game since stepping away from Test duty"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Owen Farrell set for first Saracens appearance since shock decision to step down from England duty&#8230; with fly-half primed for daunting clash against the Bulls in South Africa<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Owen Farrell to step away to protect \u2018his and his family\u2019s mental well-being\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He will miss the Six Nations \u2013 leading to doubts about his international future\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Saracens will have their skipper back for Champions Cup opener on Saturday\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Owen Farrell will return to the Saracens side on Saturday for his first appearance since his club revealed that the England captain had decided to step down from Test duty.<\/p>\n<p>The 32-year-old fly-half will not take part in the Six Nations \u2013 and may never represent his country again \u2013 after opting to prioritise \u2018his and his family\u2019s mental well-being\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, he will continue to play for the Premiership champions and after missing their home defeat against Northampton last weekend due to a minor injury, Farrell has been cleared for a high-altitude comeback on the other side of the equator.<\/p>\n<p>Saracens will have their skipper back for the Champions Cup opener against South Africa\u2019s Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Owen is available and he\u2019s going to play this weekend,\u2019 said director of rugby, Mark McCall. \u2018He\u2019s trained fully over the last two days.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/19\/78658587-0-image-a-34_1701890583702.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Owen Farrell set to make his first appearance since his decision to step away from Test rugby<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he thought Farrell would benefit from his England decision being made and publicised, to allow him to focus solely on club rugby, McCall added: \u2018That\u2019s a very simplistic way of looking at this. I wouldn\u2019t dare to presume anything. I find it a bit uncomfortable talking too much about something which is really, really private, so I\u2019d rather not say too much.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Having Farrell back is a boost for Saracens as they brace for a daunting assignment against a Bulls side who are third in the United Rugby Champioship and armed with several World Cup-winning Springboks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Owen has played in lot and lots and lots of huge games for the club, in Europe,\u2019 said McCall. \u2018He is our captain and he is respected by everyone at our club; staff and players.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Sale expect Manu Tuilagi to be available for their home encounter with Stade Francais on Sunday \u2013 as the England centre has recovered from the hand fracture which he sustained in the closing stages of the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Manu is up for selection,\u2019 said the Sharks\u2019 director of rugby, Alex Sanderson. Tuilagi is poised to make his first appearance of the club season.<\/p>\n<p>Premiership leaders Sale have opened talks with their Anglo-Samoan midfield veteran about a deal for another season after this one.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sanderson explained that he is keen to retain the services of Tuilagi \u2013 and is appealing to his taste-buds as part of the quest to reach agreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When he came back from the World Cup I said, \u201cHow are you feeling? Do you reckon you\u2019ve got another year in you?\u201d,\u2019 he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/19\/78658761-0-image-a-35_1701890990756.jpg\" height=\"428\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Saracens boss Mark McCall confirmed Farrell is primed for the Champions Cup opener\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Manu said, \u201cWell, I\u2019ll get back on the field, then we\u2019ll go for another steak\u201d. So we\u2019ll chat about it over a glass of wine.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019ve got a deal with the wingers about hat-tricks and I\u2019ve struck up a similar deal with Manu today, with bottles of wine (as the prize). I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the right way to go about it, but it\u2019s certainly motivating him! It\u2019s about big hits and energy-giving. If he can out-enthuse George Ford, I\u2019m going to buy him a nice bottle of red this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s more energetic and more enthusiastic than most of the 19 and 20-year-olds we\u2019ve got knocking around the place. His desire to play in this Champions Cup \u2013 on the back of the World Cup \u2013 is quite astonishing really, because it\u2019s always the drive that goes first.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s loving it. He\u2019s loving playing, he\u2019s loving being out there \u2013 and he\u2019s probably loving the time away from his house, because he\u2019s got a new-born baby, so he gets a bit of respite! He has been bouncing around today; back-slapping, high-fiving and just looking like a guy 10 years younger than he really is.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12834107\/Owen-Farrell-set-Saracens-appearance-shock-decision-step-England-duty-fly-half-primed-daunting-clash-against-Bulls-South-Africa.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Owen Farrell set for first Saracens appearance since shock decision to step down from England duty&#8230; with fly-half primed for daunting clash against the Bulls <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/farrell-set-for-first-saracens-game-since-stepping-away-from-test-duty\/\" title=\"Farrell set for first Saracens game since stepping away from Test duty\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby-union"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - 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