Recalling Owen Farrell a ‘big call’ that risks disrupting George Ford and England

George Ford is one dominant performance away from making sure Owen Farrell cannot get back into the England team, according to Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson.

Ford will start at fly-half again on Sunday against Japan in an unchanged backline, with Farrell still serving a ban after being sent off in a summer warm-up Test against Wales.

Last weekend, Ford kicked all 27 of England’s points against Argentina in the opener as he orchestrated a 14-man win that Steve Borthwick‘s men dominated in the end.

And Dawson believes that while Farrell is likely to play a role when available against Chile and Samoa, an expected quarter-final against Wales or Australia could see the England captain dropped.

“If England put in as dominant a performance as they did against Argentina, I think life is going to be very tricky for Steve Borthwick with the selection, because to disrupt that flow in the midfield, which England have craved for decades, would be a big move,” Dawson tells i.

“It would be a big move from the physical nature of the team dynamic, but it will also be quite a big move, and a big decision from the team’s perspective. Because you would be thinking, ‘Well, things are going pretty well, we’re all playing well, we’re winning two games from two’ [and then there is a change].”

Before the start of the World Cup, Ford had played 40 of his 59 Test starts with Farrell at inside centre next to him.

But it was the more destructive Manu Tuilagi on his shoulder against Argentina and Alex Mitchell winning only his sixth cap at scrum-half, which Dawson says allowed Ford “clarity” in his thinking.

“It’s great to have two or more than two ballplayers. Some of our best rugby, back in the day was when we had multiple players who could come in to first receiver,” added Dawson, who won the World Cup in 2003 with a backline that featured the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall.

“But ultimately, your fly-half has to dictate the game. And what we saw at the weekend was a George Ford, who had no distractions, was incredibly focused on what he needed to do, even under the pressures of 14 men.

“It was his decision, nobody else’s decision. He didn’t have a Ben Youngs or an Owen Farrell, either side of him, suggesting different ideas. It was just ‘Well, this is how it’s gonna happen’. And I think potentially, it created clarity for his team.

“So as much as it would be an enormous call not to play Owen Farrell, I think the dynamic of 9, 10, 12, 13 or even put No 8 in there as well, is pretty solid. And it’s a really decent, middle third that you’ve got there of the team that England have been clamouring for a long, long time. It’s going to be a big call just to disrupt that.”

If and when Farrell does return to the team, whether as a replacement or a starter, it will given an even stronger Saracens flavour an England side that has leaned heavily on players produced by the StoneX Stadium in recent years.

As well as Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Theo Dan and Ben Earl, all picked against Japan, came through a Saracens grassroots scheme that is one of hundreds across the UK to have received National Lottery funding over the years, of which £30m a week is generated.

“Rugby has absolutely had their fair share of that over the 30 years of the National Lottery,” says Dawson.

“But bearing in mind, with one eye on that the game does need to move forward in order for the next Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Theo Dan, Ben Earl to come through.”

The concern is that, at the end of a season when three English domestic sides have gone bust, including the Wasps outfit where Dawson ended his career, rugby is now spending much of its biggest tournament talking about red cards and concussions, a potentially off-putting message to send to new players.

Or is that in fact just a testament to how seriously the game takes the issue?

“One of the comforts that I would say grassroots rugby has, an attractive comfort for children and parents who want their kids to do a bit of exercise, is the discipline around the sport, and the player experience and the player welfare,” Dawson says.

“Yes, it is being highlighted on the biggest stage that rugby has at the moment, but there’s no question rugby is safer than it’s ever been.

“And those environments around grassroots rugby are absolutely to protect those individuals and in the same breath giving them the opportunity to enjoy the discipline, the physicality, the camaraderie, all aspects of the game which is why you and I and millions of others love it.

“So it’s imperative that we do maintain the profile and the funding for grassroots rugby going forward.”

Matt Dawson has teamed up with The National Lottery to showcase the importance of funding for grassroots clubs like Saracens RFC through the £30m in funding for good causes raised a week by National Lottery players. To learn more, please visit: