Owen Farrell could begin Six Nations with no game time under his belt since November

Saracens will make a late decision this week on whether the returning Owen Farrell will play against London Irish on Sunday, raising the possibility that the England captain could head into the start of the Six Nations against Scotland with no game time under his belt since November.

Farrell is completing his recovery from an ankle injury and has been running independently in training, before returning to team training sessions this week. While the London Irish fixture in the European Challenge Cup on January 23 has been circled as a date for Farrell’s potential comeback for some time, Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, spoke cautiously on Wednesday about Farrell returning to action this weekend, having not played since picking up his injury against Australia.

“Owen has worked hard,” McCall said. “We’ll see towards the end of the week whether he’s able to take part in the match this Sunday… see how he recovers from that team training. There are a few more training sessions to go before the game on Sunday and we’ll make a late decision on whether that’s possible. We just need to see how he reacts to the training he had yesterday [Tuesday] and tomorrow [Thursday] before we make any decisions.”

McCall has previously suggested that Farrell could also play against Wasps next week if released by England to further build up his match fitness, but clarified on Wednesday there had been no conversations about that happening.

Should Farrell not feature against London Irish on Sunday that position may change. Farrell faced a similar race against time to be fit for the start of the Six Nations back in 2019 after undergoing thumb surgery. He also went into the 2021 Six Nations with little match time under his belt following Saracens’ relegation to the Championship.

Saracens players Jamie George, Maro Itoje and Max Malins have also been called up, with McCall backing Elliot Daly, who has not been named in England’s squad, to feature later in the Six Nations after more match time. “[Daly] has been playing very well for us I must say. We’ll give him as much rugby as he needs before he maybe gets the opportunity to go back in again [with England],” McCall said.

McCall also praised Mako and Billy Vunipola, the England veterans who have both missed out on selection again. “Mako and Billy are playing outstandingly well for us. I do think they believe Eddie when he says the door is not closed.”

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