Matt Dawson gives brutal assessment of Owen Farrell's form

Monday, 16 November 2020 at 14:47

bySteven Smith

Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson believes Owen Farrell is off the pace and Eddie Jones should look to another fly-half.

"England's forwards dominated Georgia, but the backline lacked a clinical edge," wrote Dawson in his column for BBC Sport.

"Captain Owen Farrell was by no means at his best playing at fly-half. He just looked a couple of percent off the pace mentally and that was reflected in the backline.

"England's usual starting 10 George Ford has missed the past two games with injury, so Farrell has moved from inside centre.

"There is such a difference between them. Ford has incredible vision of delivery, putting people through gaps.

"Farrell is a tactical magician. He will kick you into the right positions and give good passes, but not in the zippy way that Ford does.

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"When you move Farrell to fly-half, you are actually playing a very different style of organisation.

"The last couple of games the backline has been very lateral. It looks like it is an afterthought to go to the backs.

"It might be better to bring in another 10 and have Farrell back at 12."

LIST | 5 lesser known siblings of current England stars

They may be less popular and have less fans than their England international sibling, but this fact doesn't make them less awesome as they make their own way in the game.

1. Tom Cowan-Dickie, brother of Luke

A product of the Penzance & Newlyn RFC’s youth section, Tom initially developed his rugby through the club and at Mounts Bay School, as did his younger brother Luke. The 28-year-old, who also plays hooker, first joined the Cornish Pirates in 2010, and signed a new two-year deal in May 2020.

2. Will Joseph, brother of Jonathan

Will Joseph, from Newbury, Somerset, followed in the footsteps of his brother, England and Bath Rugby centre Jonathan 'JJ' Joseph, towards a career in professional rugby by signing with London Irish's academy. Will, who is an outside centre, has also played in all the England U18 league matches, crossing for several tries.

3. Callum Watson, brother of Anthony & Marcus

The scrum-half was plighted by injuries towards the end of his time with London Irish and subsequently was not offered a new contract at the club; and has since had stints with Loughborough Students and Chinnor RFC.

4. Phil Cokanasiga, brother of Joe

Phil, who like his brother has kicked off his career at London Irish, made his European and Premiership debut in the 2019/20 season. The centre also made appearances in the Premiership Rugby 7s competition at the beginning of the campaign.

5. Frankie Nowell, brother of Jack

The versatile 17-year-old back, who has a big reputation, is making a name for himself on the south coast. Currently plying his trade with the Exeter Chiefs U18, he is certainly a name to watch out for in the future.