Owen Farrell facts for kids
Farrell with Saracens in 2015
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Owen Andrew O'Loughlin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 September 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Billinge Higher End, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (203 lb; 14 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | St. John Fisher Catholic High School St. George's School |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Hertfordshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Andy Farrell (father) Phil Farrell (uncle) Liam Farrell (cousin) Connor Farrell (cousin) Sean O'Loughlin (uncle) Keiron O'Loughlin (grandfather) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owen Farrell (born 24 September 1991) is a famous English professional rugby union player. He usually plays as a fly-half for the French club Racing 92. He also often plays as an inside centre. Before joining Racing 92, he spent most of his career with the English team Saracens. Owen is well-known for his amazing goal kicking skills.
Since 2012, Farrell has played for the England national team. He has scored over 1,200 points in more than 100 international matches, making him one of the highest point scorers in rugby history. He holds the record for the most points scored for both England and Saracens.
Owen's father, Andy Farrell, is the current head coach for the Ireland rugby union team. His father also played both rugby union and rugby league for England.
Contents
Early Life & Family
Owen Farrell was born in Billinge Higher End, England, on 24 September 1991. He started playing rugby league at eight years old for Wigan St Patricks.
In 2005, when Owen was about 13 or 14, his family moved to Harpenden. This happened when his father, Andy, joined Saracens. It was then that Owen started playing rugby union for the first time. He later studied Business at the University of Hertfordshire.
Owen has two younger sisters, Elleshia and Gracie, and a younger brother, Gabriel. His uncle, Sean O'Loughlin, was a captain for Wigan Warriors and the England rugby league team. His cousin, Liam Farrell, also plays for Wigan and England.
Club Career Highlights
Owen Farrell holds a special record: he was once the youngest player to play professional rugby union in England. He made his debut for Saracens just 11 days after his 17th birthday in 2008.
Saracens Success
Farrell was a key player when Saracens won the 2010–11 Aviva Premiership Final. He scored 17 points in their 22–18 victory over Leicester Tigers. In 2014–15, he was named "man of the match" in the Premiership Final, scoring a try and 13 points as Saracens won 28–16.
The next season, he helped Saracens win the 2016 European Rugby Champions Cup Final by scoring all 21 points against Racing 92. He was also the top points scorer in that tournament. That same year, Saracens won the Premiership title again.
In 2017, Owen became Saracens' all-time leading points scorer. He also helped them win their second European Champions Cup and was named European Player of the Year. He continued to win Premiership titles with Saracens in 2018, 2019, and 2023, often scoring many points in the finals.
Leadership & Challenges
In 2020, Farrell showed his dedication by agreeing to defer part of his wages to help Saracens financially. Later that year, he received a 5-game ban for a high tackle. During this time, he helped his teammate Alex Goode, who took over as fly-half, showing his commitment to the team.
In April 2021, Farrell was officially named club captain of Saracens. His Director of Rugby, Mark McCall, described him as "thoughtful, insightful and modest but at his core he is a competitor."
After recovering from an ankle injury in 2022, Farrell returned to help Saracens reach the playoffs. His teammate Jamie George said Owen was "so, so important to this team."
Moving to Racing 92
On 22 January 2024, it was announced that Owen Farrell would join the French club Racing 92 at the end of the 2023/24 season.
International Career with England
Early England Days
Owen Farrell first played for England in the 2012 Six Nations Championship against Scotland. He was the youngest player in the squad. He showed strong kicking skills in his early matches, scoring 63 points in his first five games.
In December 2012, he played against New Zealand and scored 17 points, helping England achieve a huge victory against the All Blacks. He was even nominated for the IRB Player of the Year award.
Key Moments & Injuries
In 2013, Farrell scored his first try for England against Australia, helping England win 20–13.
He missed the entire 2015 Six Nations due to a knee injury. However, he recovered and was part of England's squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He played well, but England did not make it past the group stage that year.
Grand Slam & Captaincy
In 2016, under new coach Eddie Jones, Farrell became a key player at inside centre. He helped England win the Grand Slam (winning all their games) and was the tournament's top scorer with 69 points. He also played a big role in England's 3–0 series win in Australia that summer.
In 2018, Farrell captained England for the first time against France. Later that year, he became co-captain with Dylan Hartley.
Rugby World Cup 2019
Farrell was chosen as England's captain for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. England had a great tournament, winning their pool games and beating Australia in the quarter-finals. They then famously defeated New Zealand 19–7 in the semi-final. This made Farrell only the fourth England captain to beat all three major Southern Hemisphere teams: Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
In the final, England faced South Africa and lost 32–12, finishing as runners-up.
Recent Years
After the World Cup, Farrell continued as England captain. He led England to win the 2020 Six Nations and the Autumn Nations Cup in 2020. He scored the winning penalty in the Autumn Nations Cup final.
In 2021, he reached 1,000 international points in test rugby, becoming only the second Englishman to do so.
In 2022, Farrell missed the Six Nations due to another ankle injury. He made his 100th appearance for England in November 2022 against the All Blacks, a game that ended in a 25–25 draw.
In 2023, he was again named England captain for the Six Nations. Before the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he received a four-game ban for a high tackle in a warm-up game.
British & Irish Lions
Owen Farrell has been selected for the British & Irish Lions squad three times: in 2013, 2017, and 2021.
In the 2013 tour, he helped the Lions win the series against Australia.
In the 2017 tour to New Zealand, he played a very important role. He scored a crucial penalty kick in the second test, helping the Lions beat the All Blacks 24–21. The series ended in a 15–15 draw, meaning the Lions shared the series with New Zealand. Farrell scored the most points for the Lions on that tour.
Personal Life
Owen Farrell married his long-time girlfriend Georgie in July 2018. They have two sons, born in March 2019 and March 2021.
Even though he is a successful player, Farrell is known for being quite private and doesn't enjoy being the center of attention off the field. On the field, he is very competitive and vocal.
Farrell celebrates every point he scores by linking his index fingers to make a 'JJ' sign. This is the "Joining Jack" salute, which supports a charity called Joining Jack. This charity helps children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a serious muscle disease. Farrell is also a patron for another charity supporting this cause, Duchenne UK.
Career Statistics
List of international tries
| Number | Position | Points | Tries | Result | Opposition | Venue | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fly-half | 15 | 1 | Won | Australia | Twickenham Stadium | 2 November 2013 | |
| 2 | Fly-half | 22 | 1 | Won | Italy | Stadio Olimpico | 15 March 2014 | |
| 3 | Centre | 17 | 1 | Won | Italy | Stadio Olimpico | 14 February 2016 | |
| 4 | Centre | 18 | 1 | Won | Australia | AAMI Park | 18 June 2016 | |
| 5 | Centre | 19 | 1 | Won | South Africa | Twickenham Stadium | 12 November 2016 | |
| 6 | Centre | 16 | 1 | Won | Italy | Stadio Olimpico | 4 February 2018 | |
| 7 | Centre | 13 | 1 | Lost | Scotland | Murrayfield | 24 February 2018 | |
| 8 | Centre | 16 | 1 | Lost | South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium | 9 June 2018 | |
| 9 | Fly-half | 22 | 1 | Won | Australia | Twickenham Stadium | 24 November 2018 | |
| 10 | Fly-half | 17 | 1 | Won | France | Twickenham Stadium | 10 February 2019 |
Honours and Awards
Owen Farrell has won many awards and championships throughout his career:
- British & Irish Lions
- Test Series Win: 2013
- Test Series Draw: 2017
- England
- Rugby World Cup
- Silver Medal: 2019
- Bronze Medal: 2023
- Six Nations Championship: 2016, 2017, 2020
- Grand Slam: 2016 (winning all Six Nations games)
- Triple Crown: 2014, 2016, 2020
- Calcutta Cup: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020
- Autumn Nations Cup: 2020
- Saracens
- Premiership Rugby (English league title): 2011, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023
- European Rugby Champions Cup (top European club competition): 2016, 2017, 2019
- Individual Awards
- European Player of the Year: 2017, 2018
- Nominated for World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year: 2012, 2016, 2017
See also
In Spanish: Owen Farrell para niños
