Charlie Hodgson: Stephen Myler can put the pressure on Owen Farrell
But ex-England maestro Hodgson is also excited by the number of fly-haves putting their hands up for England selection in World Cup year.
And he is tipping Northampton‘s Stephen Myler to pose the biggest threat to Farrell’s supremacy as the season wears on.
Hodgson told The Rugby Paper: “Owen’s very good. He’s got such a wise head for such a young guy and it helps having the people he surrounds himself with because they’re certainly helping with his development as a fly-half.
“I can’t see any reason why he can’t be one of the greats of the game, but he knows himself he needs to work hard and he does that.”
Farrell, right, is currently sidelined with a quad strain and Hodgson says of the England challengers lining up:
“I’m just glad I’m not picking the team. When you see how well other guys are performing every week, it’s got to be good news for England.
“Stephen Myler is not often spoken about but he controls the way Northampton play and when he goes well, the team performs well.
“Stephen’s certainly one of those players who’s underestimated and before everyone looks towards players who are potentially more flash, he does the basics well and is certainly going to be one who offers some competition to Owen.
“Then you’ve got George Ford, who at the moment seems to be carving it up for Bath, and guys like Danny Cipriani, Freddie Burns and Henry Slade.
“There’s so many guys who you can choose from and you can talk about strengths and weaknesses, but it’s a good position for England to be in.
“The guys themselves might not be enjoying the fact that there’s six people playing for one starting spot, but every week it’s going to lift their level and whoever is finally picked will be playing at the top of their game and will deserve it.”
Hodgson, meanwhile, has revealed his desperation for silverware as the clock ticks down on a remarkable Premiership career that has entered its 15th season.
Until sidelined Leicester‘s lock Louis Deacon re-emerges, Hodgson holds the distinction of being the English top-flight’s longest serving continuous practitioner, despite suffering two potentially career-ending knee ligament injuries in 2003 and 2006.
He admits to feeling unfulfilled, though, as the pain of last season’s last- gasp Premiership final loss to Northampton continues to burn deep.
Hodgson, 33, explained: “It’s great to have been around so long and it shows resilience in my character, but it would be nice to have a few more trophies. Ultimately, you want to win and be successful and although I won a few things during 11 great years at Sale, I’d like to have that feeling again.
“Any player wants more trophies. It’s a burning desire, which is why what happened last season was arguably more painful for me because I know there are probably not that many more opportunities left to win things.
“If you’re a 21-year-old at Saracens there’s a good chance you might be involved in more, but knowing I only have a few years left means that being so close to winning a title then losing in the manner we did was very hard to take.
“You’d find it slightly easier if you’d been smashed by x20-30 points because then you’d be beaten fair and square. But, ultimately, it’s the desire for trophies that keeps you going and that’s what we’re desperate to achieve at Saracens.”
Hodgson is in the final year of his Sarries contract but has no desire to call time on a career in which he earned 38 caps, toured with the Lions in 2005, and can fairly claim to be the most gifted English fly-half never to play in a World Cup.
Injuries robbed him of that honour in 2003 and 2007, while Martin Johnson preferred Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson in New Zealand in 2011. But Hodgson is not bitter, adding: “It was just the hand I was dealt.
“You’d always want more caps but I don’t get too worked up with it.
“I’m feeling good and am physically well, so if Sarries want me I’d like to stay. But even if they don’t want me, I want to keep playing.”
NEALE HARVEY
