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Even if England’s Owen Farrell denies Dan Carter the International Rugby Board player of the year award, it’s unlikely to top the joy the 21-year-old felt in receiving the New Zealand great’s shirt.
The two fly-halves swapped jerseys after England’s astounding 38-21 win over the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday ended the world champions’ 20-match unbeaten run.
Prior to the match, Farrell had been the shock choice among a four-man list of nominees including Carter, All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and France outside-half Frederic Michalak for the IRB honour, which will be presented in London on Monday during the pool draw for the 2015 World Cup in England.
His inclusion prompted a withering response from former All Blacks prop Richard Loe, who wrote in the New Zealand Herald: “What he is doing on this list is way beyond me.”
Indeed Farrell only started against New Zealand because first choice No.10 Toby Flood — the man who took his place during England’s tour of South Africa in June — was injured.
Yet it was Farrell, not Carter, who played like the world record points scorer, fearlessly nailing four penalties and a drop-goal to give England a remarkable 15-0 lead early in the second half.
Carter, by contrast, had a rare off-day with the 30-year-old missing two first-half penalties he would normally have expected to goal and proved unusually fallible in defence too, with Manu Tuilagi brushing him aside en route to creating a try for Chris Ashton.
Farrell, who pulled the strings astutely in open play as well as kicking 17 points in all on Saturday, said no one had been more surprised by his inclusion on the IRB shortlist.
Yet, if only for this one match, he had the edge on Carter.
“There is no bigger admirer of him than me,” Farrell said of the New Zealand stand-off.
“I was massively shocked to be on the (IRB) list. I think I showed bits of what I can do. I can always get better.”
Reflecting on the victory, which followed narrow defeats by Australia and South Africa, Farrell said: “The belief has always been there. This win just solidifies that. We know that when we bring our game we can beat anybody.”
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