England captain Owen Farrell ready to get one over Ireland coach and father Andy

“Someone sent us a picture and said they looked like Del Boy and Rodney when they were dressed as Batman and Robin,” he says, tickled by the iconic image from Only Fools and Horses.

This is the Farrell most people hardly ever see. He is a devoted dad, but until this point – on the eve of his tenth Six Nations – he has pretty much never admitted in public he even has children.

But Farrell, now 31, is more comfortable sharing these days and is therefore able to reveal some insights into his life away from the field.

His father Andy has riled him. It’s nothing but light-hearted, but the presents the Ireland head coach keeps buying his grandchildren are clearly designed to annoy his son.

“My eldest has an Ireland shirt,” Owen Farrell explains. “I asked him why he has got one. He said, ‘It’s grandad’s team’ and I said, ‘You can wear a suit like grandad does, then, not the kit.’ They’re into anything [sporty] and my dad got them a Manchester City top which I’m not happy about as well.”

As Owen is a Manchester United supporter that was an easy win for Andy. It comes as no surprise that the youngest Farrells relish being outdoors – at least their father thinks they enjoy it.

“I’ve got two little lads that love running around, going to the park, anything,” Farrell says. “I don’t know if it’s more me or him, or I’m forcing it on him, but with my eldest [Tommy] I’m trying to get him to the driving range a little bit.

“He seems to like it, but I don’t know if that’s me just telling myself that! I like playing golf, but I’ve not got an official handicap. I don’t play enough to hand that many cards in.”

Over the years Farrell has learnt to let the ups and downs from weekend matches go, and having children has helped him do that.

Farrell has had time to switch off recently. He was banned for three matches for a high tackle that saw him miss two Heineken Champions Cup games and – controversially – Saracens’ Gallagher Premiership match against Bristol Bears on Saturday, one he never usually would have played in but was released for by England so he could face Scotland this coming Saturday.

He has enjoyed the time out of the spotlight and with his young family.

“It’s hard to be anywhere else when you’re in their company,” Farrell adds.

“That’s a brilliant thing for me. I think it’s helped me not dwell on things too much – that’s both good and bad. I guess with young kids you get on with what’s in front of you. That’s the way I want to be anyway. They definitely help with that.”

Farrell missed the 2022 Six Nations, having injured his ankle. Looking back now he believes it helped him reflect and return a better player.

“Obviously you’re gutted not to be involved but being with your family there are silver linings to being injured, as you’re around a lot more,” he explains.

“The amount of time you spend away from them can be hard. Another thing I enjoyed during that time was that I got to be a proper fan of England, as I was on crutches and in a boot so couldn’t get around too well.

“I was sat at home watching the games and enjoyed it even though I would’ve loved it more if I had been involved and wish I was. I got people round to watch the games and watched it as a fan.”

Now Farrell will be right in the thick of the action again, starting with Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday. Of the new crop of players, it is interesting to note that Sale Sharks flanker Ben Curry is the one he is looking forward to playing with most.

“I’m an admirer of how he plays,” he says.

Farrell cannot wait for the “nervous energy” and “excitement” he always feels before Test matches and wants to be the most authentic captain he can be, having learnt from the best.

“Hopefully [I’m in] the right frame of mind at the right time,” he adds. “Over the course of my career I’ve learned off some of the best. Whether that be on Lions tours – [such as] that third Test in New Zealand seeing the way Sam Warburton was and seeing the way Johnny Sexton drives everything on the training field and demands from people.

“It’s about doing the right thing at the right time and drawing from that experience, whilst also trying to be yourself.”

It will help Farrell that his new boss, Steve Borthwick, has walked this tightrope himself as England captain and wants his players to relax at the right times.

When the head coach has time off – and that is hard to come by at the moment – he either cycles on a WattBike exercise machine, reads books (Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness, by Steve Magness, is on his shelf at the moment) or plays with his kids.

Borthwick has mentioned his aptly-named children, Chase and Hunter, a few times since he took the England job. Have a guess who Chase’s favourite footballer is, knowing his father?

It is not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, Phil Foden, Harry Kane or Raheem Sterling – no, the unflashy, hard-working Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson is his idol, of course.

Amid admiration for all the graft that Henderson is known for, and England’s rugby team will go through over the course of this Six Nations, their head coach knows the benefits of switching off.

“I can’t quote you the papers on this but it is proven that the best recovery – we will do the ice baths and all that stuff – is to spend time with people,” Borthwick says.

“It’s proven to have a positive effect, so we will train hard, but I want us to recover the same way.

“So I want us to be able to relax. As long as they feel they can be themselves, that’s the important thing.”

Already this mantra is rubbing off on Borthwick’s captain, Farrell, which can only bode well for England.

Originally published as England captain Owen Farrell ready to get one over Ireland coach and father Andy