Everyone is talking about England's future: what it will look like and who should shape it. People wanting a sneak preview need only study the young player wearing No13 for Saracens at the Parc Aguilera in Biarritz on Saturday. There are all sorts of coming men across English rugby but Owen Farrell is arriving quicker than most. If he does not win a truckload of international caps over the next decade it will be a considerable surprise.
His team-mates are scarcely helping to deflect the hype. "Every now and again you come across special young players," his new colleague John Smit says. "Owen is one of those. For him it's a matter of when, not if, he plays Test rugby."
Given Smit played 111 Tests for South Africa, he should be a half-decent judge. The other clue lies in the famous surname. When your father captained Great Britain's rugby league team at the age of 21 it is safe to say you possess a reasonable sporting pedigree.
The chip off the old block, at 5ft 11in tall, is not as physically imposing as his dad but appears to have the same "Man of Steel" mentality. It is not immediately obvious as he sits rather self-consciously on a chair in St Albans, trying to downplay his award as the Premiership's player of the month for October. But listen closely and you are reminded less of Farrell Sr than a youthful Jonny Wilkinson. Some people sound like Test players long before they pull on the jersey.
Talk to Farrell, for example, about his big match temperament and he instantly puts you straight. "It's irrelevant whether it's a big match or not. It's about focusing on your job at the time. You're still trying to do things as well as you can." At 20 he has already grasped the key to elite performance: that mistakes matter less than how one reacts to them. "If it doesn't work out you've just got to get on to the next thing. That's something I've learned over the last couple of years. Being really competitive you're hard on yourself when you make a mistake but then you've got to push on. I was thrown in last year because of injuries but I learned quickly. That was the main thing."
Revealingly, he also tells the story of the day he first met Wilkinson. It was 2007, at the World Cup, when Jonny and Farrell's dad were in the same England squad. He and the equally precocious George Ford, the son of England's defence coach Mike Ford, had travelled out to France during the tournament and shared a kicking session with Wilkinson.
It clearly left a serious impression: "Just the sheer amount of hard work he put into it and how precise he was with his practice. It shows you why he was the best at what he does." As Leicester discovered last May, when Farrell kicked five penalties and a touchline conversion to propel Saracens to their grand final triumph, some of the ace marksman's single-mindedness has rubbed off.
A similar work ethic is visible, too. Away from rugby he is in his first year of a business degree at Hertfordshire University – "It's assessment time so I'm trying to get some work piled in" – but his destiny was always oval-shaped.
As a kid he played rugby league, dreaming of playing for Great Britain like his father, and his move south at the age of 14 did nothing to dilute his professional rugby ambitions. "I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. I've never even thought about having another job. I've always said to myself that if I work hard enough I'll get there."
What England supporters really want to know, though, is how long it will take the talented new wave to graduate to the senior squad. Lobbing a load of youngsters into a losing side simultaneously is clearly not advisable but Farrell, having enjoyed considerable success with England's Under-18 and Under-20 sides, confirms there is plenty of precocious talent out there.
"Obviously international rugby is a different level but there are some really good players around. A lot of them are playing Premiership rugby now … if everyone keeps on the right track it can only get better. Hopefully, some will come through to the senior squad."
His father feels similarly, although Farrell Sr would rather submit to electric shock treatment – "He works hard like everyone else does" – than single out Owen for special praise. At Saracens they prefer to argue that England should already have come calling more than they have done, with their South African No8 Ernst Joubert also qualifying via residency next summer.
"We do feel we've been a little bit in the wilderness when we've been so successful. We want our boys to take that next step. Brad Barritt has been outstanding for us for two and half years, David Strettle has been playing outstandingly well, so has Mouritz Botha. You can only make it if you play well in the big games and we've played in a lot of those now. These lads have performed week in week out."
One suspects England's next head coach, whoever it is, will be rather more attentive. There remains an issue over young Farrell's best position – he has been playing in the centre outside Charlie Hodgson but can expect more game-time at No10 – but he and his club are clearly on a sharply rising curve.
Could he be ready for Test rugby in 2012? "You never know until you get out there. I thought I was ready for Premiership rugby but you never know for sure. I know I've still got a lot of things to work on but I'm happy with the way I'm playing. We've got a good thing going here and I'm happy to be part of it. But I've not made it yet; hopefully I've still got a long way to go. You want to be the best you can be."
