“I just don’t think he is the best person to captain England.”
England rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio is of the opinion that Owen Farrell isn’t the right fit for the England captaincy.
Dallaglio believes that Farrell’s position at fly-half compromises his ability to captain the side and he added that the team would be better off being led by a forward.
The 2003 World Cup winner also feels that Eddie Jones’s men aren’t living up to the “high standards” that they’ve set for themselves in the last few years, with their poor Six Nations performances.
Dallaglio on England.
England have endured a lacklustre Six Nations, having lost two of their three fixtures in the tournament. Their next encounter will be against Fabien Galthie’s France on March 13 in the fourth round.
Dallaglio spoke with the British Forces Broadcasting Service and said that the Red Roses are playing “well below their best”.
“England are in a funny place at the minute. They are clearly not playing nearly as well as they can play,” Dallaglio explained.
“They have set very high standards over the last couple of years and we have to gently remind ourselves that they have won three of the last five Six Nations and got to a World Cup final under Eddie Jones.
“They are a long way off the standards they have set themselves. Well below their best.”
Dallaglio on Farrell.
The five-time Premiership winner also explained why he feels that England ought to consider stripping Farrell of the captaincy.
“I am a massive Owen Farrell fan. I like him a lot. I think he is a warrior and I think he is a champion,” the 48-year-old continued.
“But I just don’t think he is the best person to captain England at this moment in time.
“I just don’t think the fly-half is the best place to captain a rugby team.
“Any conversation you want to have with the guy in charge you have to take five steps forward to have that conversation and that’s quite an aggressive movement towards the referee. I don’t think the referees particularly enjoy that.
“If you look at the history of the game of rugby nearly every successful team has been captained by a forward.
“Most World Cups have been won by a team that’s captained by a forward and I just think it is a much more comfortable conversation for both you and the referee.”
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