Farrell the new Butch James

They actually have very similar tackling techniques, the occasional tackle crosses the shoulder charge line. But they are both competitors, and their teams are better off for that. How can you not be inspired when your flyhalf cleans out a prop forward as Farrell did today.. The only shame for us is that Butch never got the support Farrell does from the English fans. We wouldn't have got our second WC without him.

817 views and not one reply.....that has to be some kind of world record. I guess the headline is good but the piece sucks.....hahaha!

Or alternatively there is huge interest in Farrell and this post is being picked up in general Farrell internet searches.....interesting.

The Butcher's response: 'I always wrapped my arms eventually, it's not my fault if my opponent was no longer there'.....a # legend, as one blogger noted.

Well this is more about Butch....but you're right, if our titles were a bit more targeted we might increase the casual viewership. Perhaps that could help the revenue stream.

Hahaha....the velociraptor of flyhalves.

His velocity of wrapping apparently not sufficient!!

This is really an odd tendency.....these guys know they need to avoid the shoulder charge, but they can't under pressure, it's involuntary. Reminds me of Andrew Golata the hard hitting Polish heavyweight.....who challenged well for the World Title on 4 occasions, but had a reflex, disqualifying, punch to the groin whenever he was hit hard.

Now I see Gardner has admitted his error......it was a pretty obvious call, as I believe was true of the non call Farrell got against Oz.

That one moment would have transformed the Boks season.3/4 wins in the Northern Hemisphere would have been a brilliant tour. 

Farrell is a very good No 10 however even on the domestic front he has been very cynical with his shoulder charges, he seems to get away with it. Waiting to see the uproar come the WC when someone takes him out illegally and he is carted off the field , as good as he is he will be a marked man.

Or he pulls it in a WC QF and gets red carded...remember Warburton 2011 for lifting. Or remember SBW. With a flaw like this, which seems to be getting worse, the risk of a game changing card is very real.

This from O Driscoll: SHARE THIS Owen Farrell Owen Farrell (Gallo Images) Related Links SANZAAR dismisses Super 14 talks as ‘speculative’ Bullet went through Naka’s ‘funny bone’ - wife Blitzboks v NZ to close Day 1 at Cape Town Sevens Cape Town - Legendary former Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll has warned England flyhalf Owen Farrell to clean up his tackle technique. Farrell made headlines last month with controversial tackles in Tests against South Africa and Australia. His late no-arms hit on Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen at Twickenham was steeped in controversy when he escaped unpunished. England won the Test 12-11, with the Boks denied a potential game-winning shot at goal when Australian referee Angus Gardner deemed Farrell's hit a fair one after viewing replays. Gardner later admitted he got the call badly wrong. Farrell was involved in a similar controversy against the Wallabies when he again escaped penalty for a shoulder charge on Wallabies lock Izack Rodda in which no arms were used. England went on to win 37-18. O'Driscoll told the Daily Mail at the Dubai Sevens last weekend that Farrell must surely have received a “wake-up call”. “Owen has had two wake-up calls and maybe he will look at improving his technique but you won’t see any of the ferocity taken out of the collisions.” O’Driscoll, who played 133 Tests for Ireland between 1999 and 2014, called on England coach Eddie Jones to have a word with Farrell. “He wants to show he is a good defender and he made some illegal challenges in the November Tests and ran the risk of going to the bin twice.”

Much like Butch, I think his use of the shoulder is involuntary. Under pressure they present the shoulder. Happens all the time in American football. Frankly I think the whole thing is belt and suspenders. As long as the tackle is below the shoulders, who cares if arms are wrapped. Rugby should focus on high tackles and stop complicating things.