Owen Farrell's England withdrawal is wake-up call that rugby can't ignore
The clue was out there, only not in Owen Farrell’s own unflinching reaction to being vilified on social media.
Back in the summer England's captain was not prepared to give the keyboard warriors the satisfaction of thinking they had got to him. Only when team mate Tom Curry and his family faced death threats and a vicious pile-on for daring to report an alleged racial slur at the World Cup could Farrell bite his tongue no more.
"You are dealing with a human being,” the 31-year-old raged. "Just because you are saying stuff on your phone or behind a screen doesn't make it acceptable.
“It isn’t understandable the amount of abuse he has got. The effect the abuse has - not just on him - is what I and we really don't understand.
“It doesn’t make me look fondly on [social media] or on engaging with people outside of the people that are close to you.”
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Two months earlier Farrell had been the victim of the faceless mob after being red carded against Wales and, initially at least, escaping a ban. He took it on the chin, as he did the booing which too often greeted mention of his name, even from England fans, during the World Cup.
But dad Andy could not stand by and say nothing and lifted the lid on the effect trolling, which he branded “absolutely disgusting”, was having on his family.
Farrell was shown a yellow card against Wales which subsequently became a red and led him to be trolled online (Ashley Western/Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)“What could I say? I don’t know…” seethed the cross-code legend. “I’d probably get his mother up here to do an interview with you, and you’ll see the human side of the bulls*** that’s happening.
"Or maybe get his wife to write a book on it, because then you’ll probably see the impact that it’s having on, not just the professional player, but the families and the human side that goes with it.”
His words carried real power yet to what effect? The World Cup final came along and another human with feelings was caught in the cross hairs, this time English ref Wayne Barnes threatened with having his home burned down.
There were death threats too - and horrific talk of violence towards his wife and children.
“They are not just targeting me they’re tracking down my wife,” Barnes told The Guardian. “Finding her email address and threatening her directly. They are saying we know where you live we’ll be waiting outside the kids’ school, we’re going to burn your house down with the kids in it.”
Tom Curry was subjected to foul online abuse after reporting an alleged racial slur against him (Getty Images)Will the England skipper stepping away from international duty change anything other than require a new man to lead the national team? Doubtful.
Withdrawing from the upcoming Six Nations tournament "in order to prioritise his and his family's mental wellbeing" undoubtedly shines the brightest light yet on increasingly poor behaviour in and around rugby.
But the sport's governing body has already declared war on the perpetrators. saying it has the technology and the determination to identify individuals. And the abuse continues.
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“Even if they have like a giraffe1234 kind of handle we can find out who they are and where they live,” a spokesperson claimed.
Well if it does have the means it needs to use them. If it does have the stomach for the fight it needs to show it. And it needs to do so now.
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