Owen Farrell: Saracens’ Mark McCall would understand if fly-half ‘wanted new experience’

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has said he can understand if Owen Farrell wants to explore other options, amid reports he could move to France.

The French club denied on Friday that there is an agreement in place to sign England’s record points scorer.

“Having stepped down from England, if he decided him and his family want a new experience elsewhere, who could blame him?” said McCall.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “What I can say is Owen has given his life to our club, he’s been there since he was 16 years old, maybe before that. He’s been an incredible player, leader and person at the club for so long.

“When things got tough in 2019 [when Saracens were relegated for breaching the Premiership’s salary cap regulations], he was one of the ones who wasn’t going anywhere, he showed what the club meant to him and showed his loyalty.”

But McCall would not be drawn further on the “speculation” around Farrell’s possible exit, adding: “I understand why people need to ask the question, but I can’t answer the question because it’s speculation at this moment in time.

“As soon as there’s something proper to talk about, we’ll talk about it.”

Farrell, who captained England to third place at the Rugby World Cup in October, announced the following month that he had made himself unavailable for England’s Six Nations campaign “in order to prioritise his and his family’s wellbeing”.

Any move away from the Premiership would make him ineligible for England selection under the Rugby Football Union’s rules on overseas-based players.

Farrell played for reigning champions Saracens in Saturday’s 19-10 Premiership loss to Leicester Tigers.

“He played well, he’s good at giving his team everything and putting distractions to one side,” added McCall. “Not everyone can do it, but Owen’s one of the ones who can.”