'Warning was there': Owen Farrell makes surprising decision after 'appalling' 'absurd' treatment

Mate, for the record, I am NOT advocating or excusing trolling or bullying of any kind. I spoke about CRITICISM, which Farell draws upon himself. He needs to work on his behaviour and stop being both disrespectful and inappropriate on the field. Simple. I agree with your point re: disliking players; I don't know Farrell, and I can't say I dislike him as a human. As I noted, he's probably a good family man and decent bloke. On the field, however, he's done MANY things that make him hard to like. We're rugby fans, we have our favourite players, players we don't 'rate', opposition players we respect or don't, and players we dislike (on the pitch). Agree or disagree, I don't really mind, the fact of the matter is that Owen has some serious on-field image issues.

I am with you Brendan. I do not consider Farrell a dirty player. I think he has bad tackle technique. I felt sympathy for him when the judiciary made an incorrect decision corrected on appeal. That must have been a very difficult time for him. I accept that referees should not talk as much as they do. Make a decision, explain it once and move on. They should never use the first names of players. On the paddock, the man with the whistle is the ref of the player, not his mate. Apply should be addressed by his number or, if he is the captain, as captain. However, none of those points, change my view of Farrell or Sexton as a captain. They recalcitrant dissenters. as for Hartley, Barnes sent him off. There was no citing.

I said a few so up to you which ones you want to remember and absolutely he deserved it, especially when he did it again and again.

Then I take it back.. you aren’t a harsh marker you’re just a really poor judge

Dusty, you say it can be excused because you don't like Farrell, with all due respect that is absolute rubbish. Because you don't(or anyone else for that matter) doesn't excuse it. He annoys me when he is taking a kick, but that's just me, but I don't dislike him, I have never met him, and every interview I have heard he seems an ok person to me. And that includes almost any player, I genuinely can't say I dislike any of them. Take someone like Nic White, he is in refs' face constantly niggly as hell, that still doesn't excuse anyone from trolling him or family online.

I think sadly its not just on-line any more and people want to be the hero on social media. It wont be long before we start getting media posts of fans chasing players and their families like we are seeing in politics. When that happens its hard to undo it.

Agree 100%. Players may say they don't read media but family members do and players don't live in a bubble and know how people feel. They know by the way media ask questions that people are upset and people on the street can be really bad. It only take one idiot on the street to shout abuse at you for it to ruin your day. You have to many bad days in a row over it and no money is worth it for you or your family.

He does deserve his spot and currently is the only lock who does, and I never said he didn't. What I am saying is the media will go after the captain when the team has bad spells or losses. Cane at 7 and Savea at 8 is the best compo that NZ could pick in the whole time Foster was there but once ABs started losing Cane suddenly was only in the team because he was the captain. Cane was worthy of his place and others who came in at 7 were not as good as him nor were the 8s who came in to replace Savea. Currently SB is the best lock by a mile then the rest are all about the same. The problem he will have is he is probably the second best 6 aswell after SF too. That makes him the perfect captain as easier to fit into the team, but when things go bad they will say he is being moved around to be in the team rather than be a bench player. Calls will be made to have some of the up and coming locks in the team. When Scott is 34 heading into the next WC as captain and the locks who are in their prime are pushing for a spot don't you think he place will be questioned. I expect the first year for Razor to be a learning experience and if NZ are doing poorly one of the first points of attack by the media will be the pack is not phyiscal enough because you have a 6 playing as lock and he is only playing because he is captain. Lets see if i'm right or wrong but the coach and captain will take flack for losses. If Razor has a learning period the media will hone in on the amount of time he spent outside of Christchurch. Scott's will be as above. Savea showed himself a poor decision maker and may not even be playing straight away after returning from Japan so who else does Razor pick as Captain. Tuipulotu is not likely to start unless he passes Vaa'i and he is the same age as SB and doesn't have the same relationship with Razor. I am not sure NZ want their two starting locks in 2027 to be two 34 year olds. Harmony is an unlikely pick unless he has had a massive improvement, Not sure who will replace Cane at the Chiefs or Savea at the Canes but will a rookie captain become the AB captain the same year, its unlikely.

No not for talking to the ref (though Hartley was red carded so auto cited), but plenty have been post match for tackles which is what I was referring to.. Farrell has only gone before the citing panel because every red card is automatically sent there. If Farrell was such a dirty player as many claim then he would have been cited loads. Would telling the ref he is wrong be considered allowable. Easy for people to say Captains like Farrell and Sexton talk to much to the players but part of modern reffing is talking to captains to help the game flow. We have spent ages talking about how the ref made a call an a player told him he was wrong and why wasn’t the penalty reversed. I am sure they would have been shocked if you had told them RM should not have even spoken to the Ref. Coaches pick people to be captains who will get them an advantage. Teams rarely pick captains outside of the pack and if they do it is mainly 9 or 10 because a member of the pack and #9 are usually near every ruck, lineout, scrum etc so can talk to the ref right away. The problem is refs talk to players as much as players talk to refs. Every time off period or kick and goals the ref will be by someone have a drink and having a chat. Its hard for them to turn around 2 minutes later and ask the player why he is talking to him. I hate the first name basis which doesn’t help either. In Ireland and rougher parts of the UK swearing is not seen as bad but an emphasis of a word so what may seem harsh to one person maybe just be down to the type of english they speak.

That's the the thing - I have seen him play, many times, and I've also seen George Ford, Marcus Smith, Finn Russell and the other 6 nations' 10's. And Farrell just isn't up there. And there are a lot of pundits who think the same. Also I think he knows it and his passionate desire to be the best is putting him under massive pressure. So it's not surprising he's stepped down from the 6 Nations next year when again he will be under scrutiny and compared with players who are more talented. However this is to take absolutely nothing away from his service and total commitment to English rugby over the years which has been outstanding.

I’m not aware of any player who has been cited post-match for dissent. I’d be interested to hear of them if you can refer me to articles about that. The only reference to a captain being allowed to talk to a referee is in Law 7.2 (d). A referee may allow a captain to choose between advantage sanctions in the event advantage played to the first results in a second. Otherwise the laws say nothing. However it has always been the tradition to allow captains to asks why a decision was made. Rather than what is allowed, another pertinent question is “What is not allowed?” That is what captains like Farrell and Sexton persist in. It is not just them, of course. But they are good examples of captains who do not always respect the authority of the ref and frequently dispute decisions (Law 9.28 Foul Play). Perhaps, you are right. Maybe that is why they were chosen to be captain. If they get away with dissent and lack of respect, why not?

I couldn't disagree more Dusty. There is absolutely no excuse for abuse etc online to players , as it effects familes and everyone. Plus it is done in general by cowards anyway, who won't face up to people in person. I not a fan of his by any means, but find any excusing this kind of treatment of ANYONE online etc unfortunate at least and I am stunned anyone thinks it ok. To say he deserves it because he annoys people is to excuse it when it happens to anyone including refs etc who may well annoy some people.

This is pretty interesting. Rugby is a tough game. On two occasions I observed him squealing at the ref like a remonstrating petulent child including "He slapped him, he SLAPPED him" when a Pom had a hold of a Fijian's shirt and he tried to make him let go. He REALLY makes it EASY to dislike him.

Brendon are a clairvoyant or just making stuff up. I could be wrong but it sounds like you think SB doesn't deserve his spot in the All Blacks or that matter the captaincy. Unless you have had a vision that it is going to turn to water, I'm very glad you're not a selector. The mental scaring from what ever happened with SB or any New Zealander for that matter will heal, give it time.

Michael Hooper was absolutely hounded on this very forum. People have incredibly convenient memories.

Mate you’re a seriously hard marker! Farrell not being at super rugby standard?? You either haven’t seen him play much or don’t understand. If we had a 10 anywhere near as good he would be irreplaceable.

????

When he has been representing your county for 11 years, it’s fair to say he’s a bloody great player.

Yet he also had to take time out of the game. The Media wasn’t exactly kind to him after 2021 and plenty people said he was only in the team because he was a captain and didn’t do enough. Then as more media and fan pressure built he took time away from the game. If the Fiji loss had happened in Oz the captain would of been jeered

Our future with social media and anonymous posters with an agenda will see more of these attacks. Humans have lost their moral compass and thrive on bullying tactics to make themselves feel bigger. Tall poppy syndrome at its best. Metal health stats will continue to escalate with society falling victim. Farrell’s behaviour has been ever existent in all sporting arenas and it’s only with the advancement of technology that the aggressor and the victim are on display and now in view of the fans. This is escalated through media outlets. There’s no hiding anymore. Best of recovery to Farrell and his family. A top player who will continue to serve our sport well.