The conclusion he reached was fascinating: they all had captains who exhibited broadly similar characteristics. After seeking to quantify the best sports teams that have existed – from gridiron to ice hockey and basketball to cricket – Walker then sought to identify what, if anything, all those sides had in common. In that split second it was possible to see the essence of Farrell: a world-class competitor for whom bruised individual feelings or outside perceptions are secondary to his team fulfilling its full potential.ĭoes that make him the perfect captain? Sam Walker’s excellent book, The Captain Class, examined the broader question in detail. Rather than apologising, he responded by angrily rebuking Davies for throwing him the ball in the first place when better alternative options existed. Perhaps the most fascinating snapshot, though, came after Farrell had dropped a waist-high pass from his scrum-half, Aled Davies. If he ends up throwing any more killer offloads like the one that yielded Alex Lewington’s bonus-point try, Scotland really will have their hands full. With Marcus Smith sidelined of late, it does not require too shiny a crystal ball to envisage Farrell being handed the No 10 jersey when Borthwick names his side to face Scotland at Twickenham on 4 February. He was also the master and commander of a Saracens team who knew precisely what they were doing and rose expertly above the wind and rain. In horrible conditions, Farrell had an outstanding game. The idiosyncratic Ellis Genge? Tom Curry? It has the feel of a signature choice, made all the more intriguing by Saracens’ big win over Exeter on New Year’s Eve. Does he stick with Owen Farrell, revert to the injury-plagued Courtney Lawes or opt for the road less travelled. Which brings us to the conundrum facing Steve Borthwick in the opening days of a massive year forhe and his team. Again, the rest is largely triumphant history. England had tried a few leaders without, for various reasons, finding a permanent solution before Geoff Cooke went with the inexperienced Carling in 1988. Carling, though, was another interesting example of a bold captaincy choice that paid off. Even Will Carling – 44 wins from 59 games as England’s captain – could not quite manage those rarefied stats.

The captain class