England World Cup captain Owen Farrell insists he intends to play for as long as possible despite questions over his international future. Farrell was a key player under Steve Borthwick at this year’s World Cup in France and wants to play at a fourth tournament in 2027.
The 32-year-old Farrell will be 36 by the time Australia hosts the next edition of the tournament in four years. Ben Youngs, Courtney Lawes and Jonny May have all recently retired despite each being under the age of 35.
Farrell has impressive young talents Marcus Smith and Fin Smith pushing him for starts at fly-half. However, the Saracens ace has vowed to battle on, likely with one eye on Youngs’ England appearance record of 127.
“I want to play as long as I can, I absolutely love what I do. I’m unbelievably lucky to do something I’m really passionate about. I don’t see that changing any time soon,” 112-cap Farrell promised.
READ MORE: Inside England’s Rugby World Cup win as Prince Harry plays bongos – EXCLUSIVE[LATEST]
“The exciting bit is what’s in front of us. Where you can take what you’ve been doing and how to get the best out of yourself. Hopefully there’s loads more of that.”
Speaking at the launch of the Investec Champions Cup at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he added: “I wouldn’t sit down and set targets. But they are in the back of my head, quietly. I wouldn’t be one to say ‘I have written this down, this down and this down, and this is what I want to achieve, this is what I am working for every day’.
“But they are there in the background, yeah. Probably the most powerful thing is to be able to adapt and keep pushing forward whatever happens.”
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
DON’T MISS…
England rocked by Six Nations injury setback as Tom Curry faces lengthy lay-off[RUGBY]
Danny Cipriani posts cryptic message after marriage split and ‘I’m A Celeb snub'[NEWS]
Bumbling burglars leave behind Rugby World Cup after break in at South Africa HQ[LATEST]
There has been debate over the future of English rugby. The Rugby Football Union has been tipped to appoint a director of rugby to help steer the national team back in the right direction amid concerns that Borthwick’s side have stalled in recent years.
Farrell says there is now a core of players within the English dressing room who are willing to make their voices heard over any change they believe is necessary. “I feel like as a group of players at England now, if we had any concerns we’d voice them,” he said.
“I’m comfortable the players are clued up enough and interested enough to make sure that they’re involved every step of the way.”
Source: Read Full Article
