Owen Farrell’s likely exit is a damning indictment for English rugby

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It feels increasingly as if rugby’s axis of power is shifting. Where once England harboured delusions of grandeur at being the premier club destination in the world, such status has now been definitively annexed by France. If the loss of Joe Marchant to Stade Francais smacked of misfortune, the failure to stop Henry Arundell high-tailing it to Racing 92 looked more like carelessness. Against this backdrop, reports that Owen Farrell is in advanced talks to join his young international team-mates across the Channel offer a damning indictment of how much the lustre of English rugby has dimmed.
Once, the notion of Farrell forsaking England seemed preposterous. For a decade he has been the country’s hardiest perennial, its World Cup linchpin, the one figure around whom Steve Borthwick would happily rearrange every other piece of furniture. But these realities have been starkly recast since that bruising campaign in France, where the captain found himself booed by some of his own fans.
Already he has taken a leave of absence to prioritise his mental health. And if he can regard even the Six Nations as dispensable, it follows that he might start to ask himself whether a career of unquestioning loyalty to the England cause is worth the bother any longer.
Even Borthwick has expressed doubt as to whether Farrell would don the white jersey again. In his most recent comments on the No 10’s decision to step away, he described himself merely as “hopeful” that Farrell would return. The longer the separation goes on, the less likely it becomes that he will seamlessly rejoin the fold. The shock link to Racing makes these questions more urgent than ever. After all, Farrell, as England’s playmaker, is not the type who can casually glide in and out of the set-up. If he does choose to decamp to the Top 14, it is a reasonable working assumption that he will turn his back on England for good.