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England 'failure' Andy Farrell and the state of the Union redress

Switching codes has not been a good move for the former Rugby League superstar. England coach Brian Ashton should end his misery soon.

by Steve Till on 27 February 2007

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Andy Farrell: Bad experiment (Gettyimages.com)

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The circling vultures are preparing to feast themselves on the bones of Andy Farrell. Or so it seems as the former Rugby League superstar once again failed to deliver any goodies in England’s record Six Nations defeat by Ireland at Croke Park.

Will Carling joined the voices of disapproval over the weekend. Interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live, the former England skipper admitted that while Farrell has many attributes, pace is not one of them.

Well, what the hell does anyone expect? Andrew Farrell OBE was a brilliant Rugby League player. In his prime he won countless trophies both with his hometown team Wigan and while leading Great Britain from the front in that code's admittedly small international pond. However, Farrell was in his prime while the English Rugby Union outfit were also in their prime, defeating all before them and landing the 15-a-side code’s World Cup.

Then England fell from grace. After the ticker-tape style welcome home and the self-congratulatory slaps on the back from their admittedly brilliant performances Down Under, the wheels fell off the wagon. Faced with the loss of skipper Martin Johnson and several of his team-mates, the search was on for replacements. However, there were not too many among the younger rah-rahs who were ready to cut the mustard. So off the Union hierarchy went to raid League territory. Who better to approach than the 13-a-side code’s Man of Steel?

Farrell must have thought all his Christmases had come at once. Here he was approaching 30, the age when most Super League players have generally added their signature to their final contract in Rugby League. Or have made the decision to drop to the next level. Or are ready to take up coaching. I’m sure most of those options will have been in Farrell’s thoughts as he looked to the immediate future. The call from Union and the amount offered to switch codes must have been like manna from Heaven.

We all know what happened next. A series of injuries delayed Farrell’s debut in his new profession. However, typical of the man, he fought back from injury and was ready to start the new season at Saracens. The next question and the one that had both the real experts and the so-called media experts scratching their heads was: “Where do we play him?" To me that was a 'no-brainer'.

Farrell ended his days in Rugby League as a prop forward - the position where aging former back-row forwards go to end their 13-a-side playing days. For my money I could see young, sorry - not so young - Andy entering the kick-and-rush game in the pack, in the position they call flanker. Indeed, I could see him - once he had adapted to the technical style of the position - being relatively successful as a flanker.

That wasn’t to be the case, though, for after much soul-searching it was decided he should wear the No.12 jersey. Now in League the No.12 jersey would have been OK. That’s the number worn by the second-row forwards. But in Union 12 is a centre's number. They laughed, oh how they laughed. Those Rugby League aficionados just knew it wouldn’t work. A former League prop forward playing centre in international Rugby Union. Come on! But that is just what has happened and that is why the vultures are out.

Of course Carling is correct. Farrell has not got the pace needed to play in his given position. Neither has he got the technical know-how to compete with the best in the code. Not after a dozen first-team games, anyhow. Farrell was a great player and would have adapted to Union a few years ago. I have no doubt that he would also have made an inside centre a few years ago. Probably one of the best.

However, now is not the time for Farrell. Please, Brian Ashton pull the plug on this experiment. It is not working. Otherwise the French will have an even bigger field day than the one I am expecting.

Was it a bad move for Farrell to switch codes? Send your views to Sportingo.

Comments (7)

by lee churchman on February 27, 2007

the problem with farrell was he couldn't cut it in league any more, but he was a big earner at wigan, wigan had to get rid of him to free up his wages because of the salary cap. no rugby league club would touch him as you have to be 100% fit to play league, so what the the chairman done was said to the RFU would you like this man, the rest is history as they say,

by Bill Baxter on February 27, 2007

No it was not a bad move by Farrell to change codes. Why would he not take advantage of the Rugby Union's offer even if it meant playing a strange game in a strange position.

by Paul Hills on February 28, 2007

Your article just shows your ignorance of Rugby League and Wigan RLFC in particular. Andy Farrell was playing as prop forward in his last year, not because it is where "aging former back-row forwards go to end their 13-a-side playing days." He played prop because all the other prop's Wigan had at the time were out injured. In addition, they had an up-and-coming loose forward in Sean O'Loughlin who could move into the No 13 position. Farrell also played stand-off (fly-half) towards the end of his Wigan career, when injuries demanded it. However, he started, and ended, his RL career primarily as a loose forward, which in rugby union is like a mix between No 8 and a fly-half.

by Gaz Shaw on March 01, 2007

I'd half agree, and half disagree with Paul's comment. Andy Farrell played his best stuff during the latter seasons at Wigan, where he was relieved of playmaking duties assigned to stand-offs and to a lesser extent, loose forwards. The history books will note Faz as a Rugby League legend, and the stats back up such claims. However he was always overrated as playmaker, certainly overshadowed by Paul Sculthorpe in that respect, and was never rated by overseas commentators (the odious Phil Gould being one of the main pragmatists). Farrell was an excellent back row forward/prop in Rugby League. It's embarassing to watch England RU think he can be a world class centre/fly-half.

by Graham Griffirhs on March 01, 2007

Before everybody rushes to immediate judgement about Farrell, perhaps we should give hime a bit longer. Like Gaz Shaw my reactions are mixed towards the article. But why all this fuss about Farrell? Some of the comments by 'pundits' in the media have been ridiculous. England were well-hammered up front by the Irish,and followers of both codes will know thatif you lose the forward battle, the best backs in the world will look ordinary. Farrell had quite a good game in the circumstances. commentators like Guscott and Carling ought to be looking more carefully at the woeful displays by the likes of Grewcock, whose idiotic sin-binning effectively put any revival out of sight.

by Peter Keane on March 21, 2007

Against Ireland all the English backs were starved of decent possession as the pack took a big hiding yet all the focus is on the performance of Andy Farrell. It's as if the Union writers couldn't wait for England to get beat so they could blame him. Whether he should be there or not is one point but to lay the blame for the Croke park defeat on him is ridiculous. In that game O'Driscoll and D'Arcy were kept quiet by their opposite numbers and vice versa, yet nobody has really commented on this.

by Billy on October 07, 2007

Farrell had a couple of years left in RL at most. He had bulked up to switch from Loose Forward to Prop due to injuries at a decimated Wigan. Yes, he is a Wigan legend, but he was never a dramatic playmaker, and certainly not a centre (though he may have played there once or twice in his youth). The fact that England RU insist on playing him in the backs speaks more about the state of RU than Andy Farrell. Face it, he's switched to an easier game, added a few years to his career and is milking RU for every penny. Good move Andy. The only frustration is that according to the RU bigots, if England win, Farrell was anonymous; if England lose, it was all Farrell's fault.