Awkward family standoff before title decider

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England skipper Owen Farrell hopes his 2 young sons are wearing their England jerseys erstwhile helium faces Ireland connected Sunday (4am AEDT) successful the Six Nations rubric decider.

Trouble is, youngsters Tommy and Freddie are staying successful Dublin with grandad.

And grandad is coaching Ireland, hoping to propulsion disconnected the Grand Slam astatine Owen's expense.

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Andy Farrell took the boys to the Ireland captain's tally connected Friday astatine Lansdowne Road, wherever the families of each the players were invited to be arsenic a convey you.

Andy joked astir his grandsons: "we'll spot if we tin compression them to cheer for Ireland."

The boys ain England and Ireland jerseys.

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"They're a spot young yet (to determine wherever their allegiances lie)," Owen said.

"They're conscionable doing arsenic their grandad's told them to. They're staying astatine their grandad's location truthful I conjecture it's his rules this play truthful far.

"I assumed — and I bash inactive presume — that they volition beryllium wearing England jerseys but I spot they're trying to sway them."

The Farrells' rivalry is simply a subplot of the sold retired match, and Owen says household enactment is toughest for his mum Colleen.

"She says she doesn't cognize what she wants to happen. It's a spot pugnacious for her," Owen said.

"But successful presumption of us, we're conscionable doing our job. (Andy's) not retired determination connected the field, it's not nonstop competition. We've been doing it for a agelong clip now."

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They person been connected other sides since Andy was sacked arsenic an adjunct manager by England aft the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Andy was hired by Ireland arsenic the defence manager successful 2016, and became caput manager aft the 2019 World Cup.

In their matchups, Andy leads Owen 4-3.

Owen said of Andy: "there's decidedly a batch of pridefulness successful our household for the occupation that he's doing."

No.1 ranked Ireland is heavy favored to execute lone its 4th ever Grand Slam, and archetypal successful Dublin.

Owen has been restored to flyhalf aft being dropped to the seat past week earlier England was hammered by France 53-10 astatine Twickenham.

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"We're hurting a spot from past week," helium said.

"Everybody, particularly from the outside, is precise down astir wherever we're astatine at the minute.

"That wasn't bully enough, it ne'er is successful an England shirt. We've been looking astatine it closely, astir apt person than everybody else, and we're looking astatine what we tin bash amended and trying to get that retired connected the tract tomorrow."

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