Andy Farrell
| Full name |
Andrew David Farrell OBE |
| Date of birth |
(1975-05-30) 30 May 1975 |
| Place of birth |
Wigan, Greater Manchester England |
| Height |
1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1][2] |
| Weight |
17 st 1 lb (108 kg)[3][4] |
| Notable relative(s) |
Owen Farrell (son)
Sean O'Loughlin (brother-in-law)
Liam Farrell (nephew) |
| Rugby league career |
| Position |
Stand-off/Five-eighth, Prop, Second-row, Loose forward/Lock |
| Amateur clubs |
| Years |
Club / team |
| |
Orrell St. James |
| correct as of 1 November 2006. |
| Professional clubs |
| Years |
Club / team |
Caps |
(points) |
| 1991–2004 |
Wigan |
370 |
(3135) |
| correct as of 1 November 2006. |
| National teams |
| Years |
Club / team |
Caps |
(points) |
1993–2004
1995–2001
2001–2003 |
Great Britain
England
Lancashire |
34
11
3 |
(134)
(78)
(20) |
| correct as of 13 Sep 2006. |
| Rugby union career |
| Playing career |
| Position |
Inside Centre, Outside Centre, Fly-half, Flanker |
| Professional / senior clubs |
| Years |
Club / team |
Caps |
(points) |
| 2005–2009 |
Saracens |
28 |
(12) |
| correct as of 2 September 2009. |
| National team(s) |
| Years |
Club / team |
Caps |
(points) |
| 2007 |
England |
8 |
(5) |
| correct as of 28 Sep. 2007. |
Andrew David "Andy" Farrell OBE (born 30 May 1975) is an English former professional dual-code international rugby footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A goal-kicking loose forward in rugby league, he captained the Great Britain team and his club, Wigan Warriors. Farrell made 34 appearances for Great Britain and also represented England in two World Cups. He won 5 Championships and 4 Challenge Cups with Wigan, as well as a range of individual awards between 1991 and 2004. Transferring to rugby union, he played for the Saracens F.C. club from 2005 to 2009 and was selected to represent England on eight occasions.
Playing career
Rugby league
1990s
Born in Wigan, Greater Manchester, Farrell first played rugby league at age 10 at a summer camp run by Graeme West, Wigan's captain at the time.[5] After developing with local club Orrell St James, he made his first team debut for his home town club Wigan at the age of 16,[6] in a 1991 Regal Trophy match against Keighley. Also that year his son Owen Farrell, who would also go on to become a professional rugby player, was born. He went on to become the youngest player to win a Challenge Cup final in 1993 when at 17 years and 11 months he came on as a substitute against Widnes.[7] Farrell then became a full international by 18, making his debut against New Zealand later in 1993. After the 1993–94 Rugby Football League season, during which Farrell was a try-scorer in Wigan's Challenge Cup final victory, Farrell travelled with his club to Brisbane, playing at second-row forward in their 1994 World Club Challenge victory over Australian premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. He rates this as one of his greatest achievements in rugby league.[8] Farrell was selected to play for Great Britain against Australia in all three Ashes Tests of the 1994 Kangaroo tour. The following year he played from the bench for Wigan in the 1995 Challenge Cup final victory over Leeds. At the end of the season Farrell played for England in the 1995 World Cup final at loose forward but Australia won the match and retained the Cup. Also that year, Farrell married the older sister of future Great Britain international and Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin.[9]
In July 1996 Farrell was appointed Wigan's captain and later that year became the youngest-ever skipper of the Great Britain team at 21 years and 4 months, leading the 1996 Lions tour of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. In October that year he won the prestigious Man of Steel award. He was also named at loose forward in 1996's Super League Dream Team. On 28 September 1997 in the 1997 Super League Premiership Final, Farrell played at loose forward in Wigan Warriors' 33–20 win over St. Helens at Old Trafford before a crowd of 33,389. He was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man-of-the-match.[10] In the 1997 post season, Farrell was selected to captain Great Britain at stand-off half back in all three matches of the Super League Test series against Australia. Farrell captained Wigan at loose forward in their 1998 Super League Grand Final victory over Leeds Rhinos.
2000s
Farrell played for the Wigan Warriors at loose forward, scoring a try and kicking two goals in their 2000 Super League Grand Final loss against St Helens. In the post season he was selected to captain England in their 2000 World Cup campaign. In 2001 Farrell set the Wigan club's record for most points in a season with 429 and most points in a Super League championship season with 388.[11] He is only the second player to score more than 3,000 points in all competitions at Wigan. Farrell played for the Wigan Warriors at loose forward in their 2001 Super League Grand Final loss to the Bradford Bulls. He celebrated his Testimonial match in 2002 and also captained Wigan to victory in the 2002 Challenge Cup tournament.
Farrell played for the Wigan Warriors at loose forward and kicked two goals in the 2003 Super League Grand Final which was lost to the Bradford Bulls. Farrell was inducted into the Order of the British Empire for services to the game in the New Year's list of 2004. Farrell won the Man of Steel Award twice, and the Players' Player Award. Now Britain's oldest international, Farrell was then selected in the Great Britain team to compete in the end of season 2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament.[12] In the final against Australia he played at second-row forward, missing his sole goal kick in the Lions' 44–4 loss. Farrell was awarded the Golden Boot as the best player in the world in 2004,[13] Farrell retired second on the list of England national rugby league team's all-time top goal scorers (behind George Fairbairn), with 78 points.
Rugby union
On 24 March 2005, Farrell announced his retirement from rugby league to take on a new challenge with Saracens and the Rugby Football Union. A series of injuries and accidents (including a car crash) meant that his debut in the 15-man code was delayed until 2006. He finally made a try scoring debut, for Saracens reserves, on 11 September 2006.[14] He then made his first team debut against Newcastle Falcons on 17 September 2006 as a replacement. On both occasions, he played as blind-side flanker. A row then broke out about his best position: the England management suggested he should be playing in the centre whilst Saracens continued to play him as a flanker.[15] However, he went on to play primarily at centre for the Saracens first team and again when selected to play for a World XV against South Africa. He was selected as a part of the England Elite squad by new coach Brian Ashton, for the 2007 Six Nations. He was seen by some to be the main contender for the starting inside centre position, after England's problems in that position during the 2006 Autumn Internationals.
Farrell made his England debut at Twickenham after he was named at inside centre in the first Six Nations game against Scotland. The 2007 World Cup saw Farrell starting at inside centre against South Africa, in England's chastening group stage defeat.[16] He was then brought on as a replacement against Tonga, and scored his first England try. However, after being picked for the quarter-final decider against Australia, he had to withdraw with a calf injury. Unfortunately, he never produced the performances in England colours which many, notably Robinson, had hoped for and ultimately won only 8 caps. In January 2008, Farrell was joined at Saracens by his 16-year-old son Owen Farrell, who signed a three-year academy deal with the club. In August 2008, Farrell was named co-captain for the 2008/09 season along with Steve Borthwick. There were rumours of Farrell returning to Rugby League to rejoin Wigan Warriors after it emerged that Saracens head coach Eddie Jones had become unhappy with the direction the club was heading. It was rumoured that Jones and Farrell could be moving up north with the Warriors becoming increasingly impatient with out of favour Brian Noble especially after Warriors poor start the season,[17] however this proved to be unfounded with the Warriors instead hiring Melbourne Storm assistant coach Michael Maguire. In April 2009, Farrell announced his retirement and said he was taking up a coaching role with Saracens at the end of the season.
Coaching career
Farrell was promoted to Saracens first team coach at the end of 2010 after impressing as skills coach. The RFU announced[18] on 8 December 2011 that Farrell, along with Graham Rowntree was to join the national coaching team, led by Stuart Lancaster, for the 2012 Six Nations championship. After a successful campaign, Farrell was given the chance to become a permanent part of the England set-up, but decided to return to Saracens.[19] However, Farrell soon left the London club[20] and the RFU announced on 28 June 2012 that he would join the England coaching team on a three and a half-year contract.[21]
Record
Previous clubs: Orrell St. James
Super League record at Wigan Warriors 1996–2004
- Played – 368
- Tries – 77
- Goals – 1026
- Drop Goals – 16
- Points – 3135
References
External links
