England's Red Rose: Owen Farrell
Owen a 25 year old from the Northwest of England is currently one of the best players in world who is having a fantastic career for England Rugby so far & who is only getting better and has chances of being named the Lions Rugby Captain.
At Twickenham on Sunday Farrell is set to win his 50th cap. Already to his name are 562 points, more than any player in history for England, save for Jonny Wilkinson. He is a Lion, a two-time World Player of the Year nominee and England vice-captain. (Alex Spink, England Rugby, 2017) As well as winning the English Premiership & European championship.
But why is this? What make Owen different & stand out over other players.
Sir Clive Woodaward (2017) believes that 'The warrior competitor in him was always admired'. Stuart Lancaster (2012) was immediately impressed with Farrell's temperament and his "warrior spirit", even when his form appeared to dip on the summer tour.
The Warrior Spirit is a player who “Exhibits controlled emotions and clear decision making in times of chaos and pressure; who can continue to improve and master the art of technical ability and tactical understanding; who can fight through any challenge and hardship physiologically and psychologically; who encompasses and demonstrates selflessness and humility.” (Chadwick, 2013).
A big part of England’s success over the past 16 games could be down to players like Owen. Lancaster in 2012 stated ‘I need players with internal drive and that warrior spirit that shows itself on the pitch when things get tough. If you’ve got that, the score will take care of itself.” (Lancaster, 2012)
This internal drive that Lancaster talks about is becoming more and more prominent and clear about Owen in other ‘ I’t becomes clear how a concentrated ambition beats even more strongly inside him (McRae, 2016)
Owen also has an ‘always gaining mindset’ (The Rugby Advantage, 2014) A person with an ‘Always Gaining’ mindset is someone who demonstrates continuous development of themselves in every aspect of their life. They take every situation they find themselves in as an opportunity to gain an advantage from something or someone which then allows them to grow and improve their learning, skills, knowledge and experience.
This is obvious to see Farrell’s need to develop as in an interview in The Guardian said this about Farrell:
“It resonates so often that I count 16 separate occasions when Farrell uses the words “improve”, “improving” and “improvement”, or the short phrase of “get better”.
(McRae, 2016)
‘It’s about me trying to be a better me’
(Farrell, 2017)
‘If you’re not growing with rugby you get left behind’
(Farrell, 2017)
“All we’ve ever tried to do is get better”
(Farrell, 2016)
“We know what we’re good at but we want to improve in every area of the game.
(Farrell, 2016)
“We must build on what we have already and move on. If you stand still in this sport you are really taking a step backwards”
(Farrell, 2013)
"You have to keep improving all the time"
(Farrell, 2013)
“Owen spends hours and hours training, playing and watching tapes to make himself better. He has a constant desire and need to improve."
(Goode, 2017)
Just like in the Tom Brady piece the Definition of Warrior Spirit has been broken down in to four areas:
Exhibits controlled emotions and clear decision making in times of chaos and pressure
There was also a telling moment when he got absolutely destroyed by a monster tackle from Ross Moriarty. It was probably slightly late as well, but Farrell did not let it bother him. He did not go seeking revenge or get all riled up like he used to. Because he has this stubborn winning mindset now, he can take that all on the chin. (Healey, 2017)
Watch here at 1:02:27 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYMSac_9uuM