Eddie Jones defends Owen Farrell tackling amid criticism
The knives have been out for England captain Owen Farrell this past month, as his tackle technique has been criticised and attacked following his red card against Wales.
Farrell’s England teammate Billy Vunipola was also red carded against Ireland, but while the No8 has not faced personal attacks, Farrell’s sketchy tackling history has led to him being labelled in a negative way.
But former England coach, now Australia coach, Eddie Jones defended both players recently, saying neither were willingly trying to break the law with their tackles. That is easy to believe with Vunipola given his clean disciplinary record, but that might we be harder for some to swallow regarding Farrell as he has a long history of dangerous tackles.
“They all care,” Jones said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday. “Billy cares about his game, cares about his team, cares about his nation, as does Owen. There’s some times in a game where actions are inappropriate to the situation and there’s a consequence for it.
“They’re not willingly breaking the rules. The situation just happens where they make a judgment mistake, a decision-making mistake and as a consequence they get punished for it.”
Both Farrell and Vunipola missed England’s historic first ever loss to Fiji last Saturday at Twickenham as they both serve their bans. Vunipola will also miss England’s opening match of the World Cup against Argentina, while Farrell will miss matches against Argentina and Japan. Despite these bans, both players have been retained in Steve Borthwick’s 33-man England squad.
