Close readers of this notablog will know that I am not Owen Farrell’s biggest fan. This is almost entirely down to his observed on-pitch behaviour: the shoulder barges punished and – more often – unpunished, the truculence, the disrespect of referees, etc. Saracens and England supporters will have much, much more to say about whether he is the best selection at either 10 or 12.
But I have found him more likeable in interviews, and can indeed recall the first time that I felt sympathy for him, which was during an interview with a rather vicious Sonja McLaughlan, who to my mind is too willing to twist the knife in post-match interviews, and who I felt at the time would have been delighted to see him cry. While the interview doesn’t seem too OTT in retrospect, in the immediate aftermath of a tense match, it seemed very tabloidy.
At the same time, McLaughlan herself was apparently the recipient of despicable abuse after the interview, and that is also wrong. You can feel – as I did, as a non-England, non-Farrell fan – that she went beyond the Pale, while not feeling the need to send her abusive messages. Perhaps a strongly-worded letter to the BBC with a return address of Tunbridge Wells would do the trick.
There is a sickness in our society. Watching the Covid-19 Inquiry this week, I was shocked by Professor Jonathan Van-Tam’s evidence regarding the threats to not only himself, but his family too:
Who in their right mind would threaten one of the most important people trying tirelessly to stop people from dying of a horrible disease? He had great Wendyball analogies and all.
Getting back to Owen Farrell, today we find out that he has made himself unavailable for the 2024 Six Nations “in order to prioritise his and his family’s mental wellbeing”. It’s not made clear whether this decision is due to on-line abuse, despair at England’s defeat, other factors, or some combination of the above, but it’s heartening to see that there is support from his club and country. Let’s hope that the ‘fans’ are equally supportive.
There’s also a soupçon or scintilla of suspicion that some of the abuse hurled in Farrell’s direction is because he’s got a not-posh northern accent. I think this is a disease particular to English, and perhaps also Dublinish, rugby, but feel free to correct me in the comments.
Without, obviously, threatening to cut my family’s* or hound’s throats, if you please.
*Although if you feel moved this way, I could give you a prioritised list. But lay off the hound.
Onna telly this week
Showing matches that are televised in the UK and Ireland or on popular subscription services. Bold indicates free-to-view. Times are in the UK zone, so adjust as necessary.
Friday 1st December
| Munster v Glasgow | 19:35 | Viaplay Sports 1 |
| Harlequins v Sale | 19:45 | TNT Sports 1 |
Saturday 2nd December
| Bulls v Sharks | 13:00 | Viaplay Xtra |
| Bristol v Gloucester | 14:00 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Toulon v Pau | 14:00 | Viaplay |
| Cardiff v Scarlets | 15:00 | Viaplay Sports 2 |
| Bath v Exeter | 15:00 | TNT Spots Extra |
| Lions v Dragons | 15:05 | BBC2 Wales / iPlayer / Viaplay Xtra |
| Saracens v Northampton | 16:30 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Stormers v Zebre | 17:15 | Viaplay Xtra |
| Ulster v Edinburgh | 17:15 | BBC2 NI / TG4 / iPlayer / Viaplay 1 |
| Connacht v Leinster | 19:35 | RTÉ2 / Viaplay Sports 1 |
| Treviso v Ospreys | 19:35 | S4C / iPlayer / Viaplay Sports 2 |
Sunday 3rd December
| Leicester v Newcastle | 15:00 | TNT Sports 2 |
| Stade Français v Toulouse | 20:00 | Viaplay Sports 2 |
Ovally Balls 
Good words Thaum. As an England fan, Faz’s actions on the pitch can be incredibly frustrating, but he does seem like a good person away from it. I still remember when the people complaining about the finger thing he does, after scoring, got absolutely shit on after it was revealed it was a charity he’s involved in.
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Cheers, Refit. Yes, I was one of those people irritated by the finger thing.
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Thankyou Thaum.
This is a difficult theme for me to comment on because I can in no way identify with the haters.
What is hate? Why do a few(?) feel the need to abuse those in any spotlight?
I am a Farrell fan: that is not to say that I think he is necessarily the best 10 and definitely not 12 but I admire his commitment and resolve. Those ín charge’ of him put him in the spotlight of being captain. How well would he function if he were ‘just’ a player?
Good luck to him – few have done more for the badge they wear.
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Lovely piece of writing, Thauma, and 100% correct on the abuse. There are simply too many people out there abusing others all the time, with seeming impunity. It’s also often amused me how many England fans have gone out of their way to absolve Farrell for his cheap shots, whilst I remember how Butch James got vilified for the same. It’s also often amused me how many Springbok fans went out of their way to absolve Butch James for his cheap shots, whilst vilifying Farrell for the same.
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RIP Shane MacGowan. A great loss of a superb storyteller.
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society copying the behavioural qualities of Johnson/Hancock/Cummings and their ilk?
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Another genius gone.
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Very well written and well said Thaum.
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Cheers, SBT.
Like Slade, I don’t know what goes through these people’s minds. I may dislike certain public figures, and say so, but not in a million years would I ever send an actual threat.
We make fun of players and staff (and other celebrities) on here. I work under the assumption that none of them are ever going to read this particular small corner of the internet. It now worries me a bit.
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No need to worry Thaum, all the jokes here, and I mean all of them, never went beyond banter. Even the original Hask, who was often on the end of quite some ribbing, would’ve gotten that. Can’t recall a single insult or worse any threat here.
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Flair – yes, but if you’re not in a good mental space and you read something that says you’re a shit player and should be dropped from the squad, it’s not going to help.
Satire is a different matter.
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CFT
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Refit – I have been wracking my brains (such as they are) to remember what the T stands for in CFT! I give up.
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Cat Faced Twa…
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:-D
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TwaD?
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Probably not.
Twad
Urban Dictionary
https://www.urbandictionary.com › define › term=Twad
Noun: A person (usually male) who is: Pale Squishy-looking Chinless Usually wears spectacles Can also refer to a person who acts like the description above.
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Jacob Rees-Twad?
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Deary me, but Munster are doing a number on Glasgow. 19-0 in a little over a quarter of an hour.
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Munster 12-0 up against Glasgow already. Mind you, Ulster were 14-0 up against Glasgow last week and look how that turned out.
Although Munster are better than Ulster….
(Runs away from Thaum).
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Bloody hell, it was 12-0 when I started typing!
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* waves rectal ban-hammer at BB *
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Furthermore, I will point out that Ulster has already beaten Munster 21-14 this season.
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Ach well, looks like a pumping tonight. We won’t get anywhere near winning things unless we can start beating teams (in particular the irish and SA teams) away from Scotstoun.
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It must be the cosy wee lampshades.
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It’s just kicked off a bit in the Quins / Sale match and a mass of players has just burst through the advertising hoarding on the edge of the pitch.
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Refit – is there fake blood being liberally sprayed about?
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/dec/01/phil-vickery-and-gavin-henson-among-rugby-players-in-brain-injury-legal-claim
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hmmm…………………
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Arendse with some nifty footwork in a small space scores the Bull’s 3rd and it’s 22-3 with five to go before the break. Sharks have had a couple of individual moments, but boy, for a side with so much star dust, they’re crap.
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Sharks pack is pretty powder-puff despite the likes of Etzebeth and Thomas du Toit being in it. And the Bulls drive over for the bonus point
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Good start from Bristol. Been all them in the opening 10mins, rounding off with a scrum turn-over, then Vakatawa puts a lovely grubber through for Malins to score from. 5-0
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27-10 early in the 2nd half, with the Sharks getting a penalty try. Ox Nche showed some great strength just now to hold Etzebeth up in the air at the kick off! Sharks looking much better this half so far, and not completely out of it. They’ve got a lineout in a similar position to where they got the penalty try from. Bulls defend well and get the scrum.
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Genge drives over for Bristol’s 2nd on 19mins. He picks out the Glaws 9 and carries him over the line too. 12-0
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Vakatawa receives the restart, passes to Thacker and in the blink of an eye, Bristol are back in the Glaws 22.
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Sharks replacement prop knocks on a pretty simple pass. Except that it’s centre, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, who looks like he’s eaten all the pies in Durban since coming back! Who was the French centre who waddled about the pitch? Janse van Rensburg looks like a less skilled version of him!
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3rd for Bristol. Randall spots a small gap, at a ruck near the Glaws line. He throws a dummy and saunters through to score.
19-0 27mins.
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4 for Bristol. Some really good passing, particularly by Thacker and Sinckler, in the build up. Glaws look like they’ve given up. Harding (8) on the end of the last pass. 26-0 30mins
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Gloucester are currently making Sheedy look world class (and Carreras a bit of a chump).
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Bulls in again, and it’s 34-10 with 15 to go. It’s been a very strong performance by the Bulls. They welcome Sarries next week.
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Janse van Rensburg has taken three passes since coming on and dropped all of them. The latest gifts the Bulls a penalty which Goosen slots from 55m out. 37-10
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LRZ says “fuck it, I’ll do it myself” and runs through (and over) most of the Bristol team, to score under the posts.
29-7. Half time.
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@Deebee – Maybe the Sharks thought they were getting the Bristol centre Janse van Rensburg? He’s been very effective this game.
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4 from 4 for Janse van Rensburg! This one gifts the Bulls a try under the posts! Not a game he’ll remember fondly!
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Ha! Refit, maybe they did! 44-10 in the end, the Bulls look to be building a very strong pack and have some gas to burn out wide.
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I wasn’t paying attention the the start of the second half and missed Randall scoring inside the 41st minute. Bristol pen on half way. He takes it quick, chips into the 22 and scores.
34-7
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Ollie Thorley looks to have scored a good try for Glaws, but the pass from Atkinson is very forward.
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