Owen Farrell steps back into Anglo-Scottish battle on Saturday with his coach insisting he remains the right man to captain England.
Mark McCall, Farrell’s boss at Saracens, saw the fly-half subbed off at Twickenham a fortnight ago as the team he was leading conceded 38 unanswered points to Scotland.
Farrell, the heart and soul of Eddie Jones’ England side, gifted the Scots two tries with interceptions and was fortunate not to be carded for a high tackle.
Former Red Rose fly-half Paul Grayson later questioned whether being England captain, playmaker and goal kicker was too much to ask of any individual.
But ahead of Saracens’ home Champions Cup quarter-final against Glasgow, McCall declared that Farrell, who is about to become a dad for the first time, is “one of our crucial leaders” and will become the same for England.
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“Obviously the captaincy is very demanding at international level but Owen has really enjoyed his time as England captain,” said McCall. “He is going to be a great leader for his country.”
Grayson’s point, articulated in the Mirror Maul Six Nations podcast, is that “a fly-half’s job is “so detailed and full”, particularly when you’re also the goal kicker, that “there’s not a second of the game you’re not in it”.
He added: “When everyone else is having a breather, you’re kicking the goal or kicking to touch or calling the shots. To then be able to be the emotional barometer of the team as well I just think is an extraordinarily hard job.
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“Owen would shrug his shoulders and say ‘I’m fine with it, no problem’. And that’s great, that’s the sort of bloke he is.
“But at some point as a coach you’ve got to work out whether that is the best management of the playing resources and the intellectual and emotional capital you’ve got within your team. From personal experience and from what I see I think it’s almost too difficult a job.”
With the World Cup approaching Jones must decide whether to stick with Farrell as sole skipper or return to a job share with Dylan Hartley or perhaps Maro Itoje.
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McCall is adamant the 27-year old is neither weighed down by responsibility nor tired, having been given last weekend off.
“I’m worried you will say Owen is fatigued and he’s not,” he said. “He has ripped back in and enjoyed being among his mates here. I know he is looking forward to what is ahead.”
