According to Jamie George, Owen Farrell’s teammate at Saracens and England, speculation about his future has shocked everyone.
At the end of current season, fly-half Farrell, 32, has been linked to a transfer to Racing 92 in France.
The record pointscorer for England, who is presently taking a vacation from Test rugby, has not signed a contract with the French side, according to their denial.
According to George, “We don’t know whether he’s leaving or not,” BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Almost everyone was taken aback by the rumors, which had only lately surfaced.
“In general, I believe Owen to be a quite private person. Although I haven’t talked to Owen about it yet, Owen and I are rather close, so we will definitely talk about it.
“In the end, he gets to decide what he wants to do, whether to stay or leave.
“I know he’s going to be choosing the right thing for him and his family.”
George is one of the contenders to take Farrell’s spot as captain for the forthcoming Six Nations, as the player will be unavailable.
Hooker George said he would be “flattered to be in the conversation” when head coach Steve Borthwick selects his squad on January 17. Borthwick is anticipated to unveil his new captain.
The 33-year-old continued, “I know it’s easier said than done, but I don’t think I’d let being captain alter the way I think or how much I pay attention to the media or the possible scrutiny that goes along with it.
“I usually make an effort to remain composed.
“Obviously, I’ve never held the position of captain of my nation before, so I would have to evaluate it if it came up.
“But I’m lucky that I’ve got really good people around me and I’m just flattered to be in the conversation.”
‘It’s an unfortunate part of the job’
In order to safeguard himself and his family’s mental health, Farrell has resigned from the England team. Borthwick has informed the BBC that the Rugby Football Union will be looking into ways to assist players who are receiving “horrendous” internet abuse.
George describes Farrell as “courageous” for wanting to put his mental health first.
“We all have to deal with it and it’s an unfortunate part of the job,” stated George.
“I make an effort not to read a lot. I don’t read a lot of the media and I don’t use Twitter [now known as X], and I believe it has worked out pretty well for me.
“I want to tell everyone who has lately experienced something like that with Owen that we are all human. It’s not very helpful to write bad things about individuals online, and we make mistakes. We sincerely hope that this will improve.
“I think it’s been incredibly courageous from Owen to step away from international rugby to put his mental health first and hopefully that’s a sign to people that we are human beings, we do have families and it can be very very hurtful.”
