“Racing 92 is regularly the subject of transfer speculation regarding moves within the squad,” the French club wrote in a statement. “We are delighted that our club has such appeal. However, we deny any agreement concerning the English player, Owen Farrell.”
Farrell stopped English rugby in its tracks when his club, Saracens, announced in November that their captain would be taking an indefinite break from international rugby, having skippered England to a third-place finish at last year’s World Cup in France and surpassing Jonny Wilkinson as the country’s record points scorer.
Throughout that tournament, Farrell became a lightning rod for vitriol, with some England fans booing the captain during the warm-ups of matches. The 32-year-old cited mental-health concerns for himself and his family as the reason for his international break.
Since returning from rugby’s global showpiece, Farrell has continued to captain Saracens, featuring in seven matches, losing only to Bulls away in the Champions Cup and Sale away in the Premiership. On Saturday, he will lead his club in a crunch domestic match against Leicester at Welford Road.
By November 2024, the Rugby Football Union will have offered up to 25 ‘hybrid’ (enhanced Elite Player Squad) contracts to its England internationals. The identities of those offered hybrid contracts remains undefined – aside from Arundell, Itoje and Jamie George – but should Farrell cross the Channel at the end of the season, with his international future uncertain, it is likely he will be turning down an RFU deal.
On Thursday, Steve Borthwick said he was “hopeful” of seeing Farrell in an England shirt again in the future as England’s head coach offered his perspective for the first time on his former captain’s decision to step away from the international game, with no date set for his return. Should Farrell depart for France, the two Smiths – Fin and Marcus – alongside George Ford would be expected to compete for the England fly-half jersey.
“It takes a lot of courage to do what he’s done,” Borthwick said on Thursday. “As we reflect, in England alone we’ve seen a player, a captain, two match officials, step away at the top of their game because of certain issues. There are societal issues here that are going on. The online hate that is spread is not OK, it’s not right.
“For people to have to endure that, their families to have to endure that, to drive people out of the game is just appalling. I don’t have the answers to it, but I do know it’s wrong and they’re not true rugby fans that are saying this stuff.
“This is fast paced, and changing, and I don’t think any of us expected what happened at that World Cup in that area, or for it to be at that level of vitriol against certain people and certain teams. We’ve looked really closely at what support we give for our players, management team, the officials, the families of everyone involved in the team. There is a big area there where we’re looking to ensure we’re maximising every bit of support we can get.”
Racing 92 have been looking to recruit a fly-half since Russell’s departure at the end of last season. Marcus Smith, Farrell’s one-time rival for the England No 10 jersey, was on Lancaster’s radar as a possible replacement but instead opted to remain at Harlequins. This season, Racing 92′s fly-half options are Antoine Gibert, Tristan Tedder and Martin Méliande.
