 Farrell joined Saracens from Wigan in March 2005 |
Andy Farrell: cross-code legend or the most disastrous sporting convert since former Coventry stopper David Icke woke up and decided he was the son of God?
Most commentators are willing to keep counsel until next year's World Cup, no doubt believing the 31-year-old deserves more than a few run-outs for club side Saracens before being written off as a very expensive punt.
But former England prop and RFU council member Jeff Probyn has already made up his mind, dismissing Farrell's recruitment from rugby league as "an act of desperation".
Probyn added that Farrell "will not be anywhere near the required level by the start of the World Cup" and that his presence in England's elite player squad "does an injustice to club players in his position".
RFU chief executive Francis Baron defended the �500,000 signing of the former Wigan and Great Britain icon, if a little unconvincingly.
Baron admitted the RFU needed to be "more business-like" when considering any future acquisitions from rugby league, "clearer as to how [they] see the role of the player [and] where he is he is going to fit into the England set-up".
 | People shouldn't reflect too much on what happens over the next two months but see how he comes out of it in three or four months time |
When Farrell first joined Saracens, it was widely believed he would slot in at inside centre, a position ideally suited to his handling and distribution skills.
But Saracens director of rugby Alan Gaffney has played Farrell at blind-side flanker in his two Guinness A League games, one EDF Cup match and 16 minutes as a Premiership substitute.
Gaffney believes Farrell's lines of running are still too lateral for him to be an effective number 12, and Farrell's former Wigan team-mate Scott Quinnell, one of the few players to flourish as a forward in both codes, reckons number six is the ideal position for now.
"There was a lot of talk about playing him at number eight or inside centre, but those positions are slightly more technical," Quinnell told BBC Sport.
"So it will be easier to pick up the blind-side role and ease himself into the game.
"He's got great skill - he's shown that at loose-forward and stand-off in rugby league. And they want to play him at first receiver, so blind-side's a superb position to go.
"When they come off the back of a scrum, he'll be able to set up second phase and either be a distributor of the ball or big ball carrier. That's the ideal position for him to play at the minute."
 Quinnell was a barnstorming forward in union and league |
Quinnell added that too much is being made of Farrell's first, tentative steps into an alien sport and that he needs to be given far more time to prove his worth.
"If he was coming straight from Wigan, you'd probably say it would take him six to eight months to get into the game and understand it," said Quinnell.
"But [while he's been out injured] he would have looked at the principles of back-row play - scrummaging, contact areas, line-out play - so I'd expect him to come through a little bit quicker than he would have a year ago.
"He's a big, strong, physical man and the only thing going against him at the moment is the technical side and it's going to take a little bit of time.
"People shouldn't reflect too much on what happens over the next two months but see how he comes out of it in three or four months time.
"The clock's ticking by with Andy and I'm sure he'll want to have a good two or three seasons to prove to everybody why he was such a big money signing."
Tiger Woods is fond of talking of 'risk/reward' shots in golf, bold efforts that either find their way on to the green and set up a birdie or eagle chance or that find some card-destroying hazard.
Time will tell whether Farrell, perhaps the greatest British rugby league player of his generation, was worth the risk.
But perhaps we should reserve judgement while he is only just airborne.
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Interview: RFU chief executive Francis Baron
