Owen Farrell has confirmed he is not retired from England selection after sealing a return to Saracens this week.
The 33-year-old ended his 16-season stint at Sarries last summer to join Racing 92 but returns to his former club after a single year.
Farrell was part of an England side that won bronze at the World CupGettyHis transfer has opened the door to a potential comeback to the national team, with Farrell unavailable while playing in Paris.
Rules state players picked for England must compete in the Premiership, which ruled out the fly-half, who was in France’s Top 14.
Farrell has not played test rugby since the World Cup two years ago, captaining Steve Borthwick’s side to a third-place finish in France.
Despite England impressing en route to an agonising one-point defeat to eventual champions South Africa in the semi-finals, Farrell came under intense scrutiny for his individual performances.
A month after the tournament, the inside centre pulled out of the 2024 Six Nations ‘to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being’.
His subsequent inelegibility by joining Racing made any talk over an international return moot until his now-return to boyhood Saracens.
Farrell has now stated that his previous decision to step away from the Test game and England duty does not count him as retired.
“Who knows? (If I’ll return for England). The only point for me now at the minute is getting back here [Saracens] and loving what I’m doing,” Farrell told Sky Sports.
“I really think I can do that while getting more out of me and that therefore hopefully puts me in a really good place to have a good impact here, and then who knows after that. That’s the starting point for me.
“I’m not retired. But the only thing I’m looking at now is getting back to feeling good.
Farrell initially retired from England before moving to France with Racing 92Getty“I don’t ever want that [struggling with criticism] to be what people think it’s like to play for England. It’s not. I’ve loved my England career.
“I’ve loved my time in camp. Some of the more special games I’ve played have obviously been with England.
“It was just what I was going through at that time, and the accumulation of stuff. I just wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing.
“This time dealing with myself and having time to reflect on myself has just made me more clear on what I want, what I want to be, how I want to be, and I’m working towards that.”
Farrell endured a poor campaign for Racing as the club finished 10th in the Top 14 and missed out on Champions Cup qualification.
Struggles with a groin injury and concussion only hampered his progress, and he has now returned to Saracens, with whom he won six Premiership titles, three Champions Cup crowns, and an RFU Championship between 2008 and 2024.
Farrell is now back in contention after leaving Racing 92 to return to SaracensGettyHe inked a two-year deal upon his return to Sarries this week, with his boyhood club announcing ‘the goat is back’ on social media.
Farrell was not included in the British and Irish Lions squad coached by his father, Andy, for the forthcoming tour to Australia.
However, injuries have already hit camp, with Farrell now in a position to join the party late should any of the fly-halves pull out.
“He was in the conversation obviously, an experienced player like that, going for his fourth Tour,” Andy Farrell told reporters.
“There’s 38 picked, which leaves a couple of slots open for us down the track if and when needed. Owen, like a few other guys, would be in that bracket.”
Owen’s dad, Andy, resisted the temptation to include his son in the squadGettyResponding to his dad’s comments, Farrell added: “With everything, what I’m saying is my focus is to get myself right and get myself in a good place and everything else is hypothetical at the minute.
“We’ll see what happens.
“Hopefully I’ve matured a fair bit and I’ve grown, so I’m looking forward to what’s to come.
“I’ve got great people around me. I’m unbelievably lucky, whether it be family or others that have had a big impact on what I do.
“Definitely [dad Andy Farrell is his main sounding board]. Especially when you don’t feel as great, you probably pick up the phone a lot more.
“My family, my mum and my dad would both be that.”
Racing owner Jacky Lorenzetti said Farrell ‘played at the speed of a snail going backwards’AFPFull British & Irish Lions squad
Forwards:
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)
Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #839
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #848
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #818
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (C)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Backs:
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #835
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
The Lions get their tour underway on Friday evening as they take on Argentina in Dublin, live on talkSPORT, before flying Down Under.
We’ll have all of the Lions’ matches live across the network over the coming weeks, plus special daily programmes with all the latest news and stories from the camp.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
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The Lions on talkSPORT
talkSPORT has all of the British and Irish Lions matches live across the network. Eddie Jones is among the star-studded line-up leading the coverage Down Under.
June 20, Dublin: Lions vs Argentina
June 28, Perth: Lions vs Western Force
July 2, Brisbane: Lions vs Queensland Reds
July 5, Sydney: Lions vs New South Wales Waratahs
July 9, Canberra: Lions vs ACT Brumbies
July 12, Adelaide: Lions v ANZAC XV
July 12, Brisbane: Lions v Wallabies
July 22, Melbourne: Lions v First Nations and Pasifika XV
July 26, Melbourne: Lions v Wallabies
August 2, Sydney: Lions v Wallabies
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