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'Rude' exchange between Owen Farrell and Luke Pearce caught on ref mic
By Ian Cameron
England flyhalf and Saracens captain Owen Farrell found himself caught in a heated exchange with referee Luke Pearce on Saturday.
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Saracens secured a narrow 39-31 victory over Bristol Bears at the StoneX Stadium, but Farrell had a nightmare day at the kicking tee, missing five conversions and a penalty.
The home side, however, outscored Pat Lam’s Bears 7-4 on the penalty count, but on social media the spotlight shifted to a verbal clash between Farrell and Pearce.
A video posted on X.com showed Farrell snapping back at Pearce after a discussion around a contentious ruck.
The exchange between Farrell and Pearce went as thus:
Owen Farrell: “That’s 3 at the maul.”
Luke Pearce: “Thanks, I can count.”
Owen Farrell: “Don’t be rude to me, there’s no need to be rude to me.”
OW “that’s 3 at the maul”
LP “ thanks, I can count”
OW “don’t be rude to me, there’s no need to be rude to me”#SARvBRI pic.twitter.com/Z1ksII9bgr
— Tony Hill (@AntonyMHill) November 26, 2023
Known for his outspoken nature with officials, Farrell seemed in this instance to have the support of many social media users who picked up on the exchange. Pearce – known for his directness with players – seemed to take Farrell’s feedback onboard, on this occasion, conceding to Farrell’s request not to be rude with him.
After the match Sarries DoR Mark McCall described Farrell’s strangely inaccurate performance as ‘one of those days’: “That was one of those days. I don’t think we’ll see that again. He was at the heart of the turnaround in the second half. It was a pretty ordinary first half and a better second half.”
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Latest Comments
The weather was dreadful but the playing surface was great so there is no real excuse for such another poor standard of play from both sides. Dragons just the better team. But, what a shocking decision by the TMO not to award the Fifita try. This pretty much sums up Welsh rugby with poor teams and poor officials. The WRU have a lot of work to do and it needs to be done quickly to avoid rugby being lost to our future generations.
Go to commentsNo chance of Borthwick selecting any young talent. He announced his selection policy from the outset with naming a poor OF as Captain, retaining an equally poor Youngs and Vunipola brothers when there were many better EQP in the Premiership. SB revival of Leicester was based on SA muscle and a terrific Welsh flanker he has generally ignored young English talent.
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