The departure of Owen Farrell from the English rugby scene was an acrimonious one, with the fly-half playing his last game for his country (for now) at last year's World Cup.
Farrell's pre-tournament red card against Wales saw him suspended for England's opening two group games, and he received a barrage of abuse from the English media and from sections of supporters as a result.
The 32-year-old announced shortly after helping England to the World Cup semi-finals that he would be stepping back from the national team for an undefined period of time, for the wellbeing of himself and his family.
Later in the season, it became apparent that Farrell would be leaving Saracens and English rugby altogether, signing a deal to move to French side Racing 92 from the start of next season.
It was an extraordinary turnaround in the space of just 12 months, and it appears as though Racing was not the only move on the cards for Farrell.
The CEO of his dad Andy's former Rugby League club the Wigan Warriors revealed that his side had tried to coax Farrell Jr to switch codes amid the turmoil of the World Cup fallout.
Now, Farrell's former England coach Eddie Jones has revealed he wanted the fly-half to join him in Japan.
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Eddie Jones tried to coax Owen Farrell into move to Japan
22 January 2020; England head coach Eddie Jones and captain Owen Farrell during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship Launch 2020 at Tobacco Dock in London, England. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
After a similarly acrimonious end to his spell with England and a disastrous second spell with his native Australia, Eddie Jones has returned to his previous role as head coach of Japan.
Jones spoke to Jim Hamilton on RugbyPassTV this week, and revealed that he had tried to coax Owen Farrell into following him across the world.
The 64-year-old coach also said that he felt the treatment of Farrell, and the fact that such a determined individual felt he could not continue in England, summed up the intensity of the English media.
I was lucky enough to coach him, there was never a tougher, more motivated, single-minded player.
I didn't follow it, to be honest, I've only heard bits and pieces, so I'm putting some stuff together...but I'm presuming that at some stage the social media really got under Owen's skin and affected him.
You can see how tough that iswhen you consider the strength of his character and the strength of his love of rugby. That he would basically say, 'enough is enough, I need a break and to go and play somewhere else.'
We were keen to get him over here. He ended up going to Racing and I can understand why.
When you're a good player like him, you've got options. I'm glad to see he's made a good decision for his family and I'm sure he's going to enjoy his rugby at Racing.
The issue of the English media's treatment of Farrell is one that pundits have broached in the past few months, and it's hard to argue with Jones' assessment that it got under his ex-player's skin.
Though Farrell will be excited about the prospect of the new challenge at Racing 92, the prospect of playing in Japan is similarly intriguing.
In his interview with RugbyPass, Jones explained the massive progression he had seen in the domestic game upon his return, after a long spell away.
It's interesting coming back having been out for eight years and seeing the development of League One [the domestic league]. The clubs now have gone to company teams. They're fully professional teams.
You've got some of the best coaches in the world here, you've definitely got the best players in the world here. It's really evolving.
The key is, how do you keep developing it? One of the things is for the national team to win. Like any country, if the national team wins, people want to follow rugby.
It's almost pure rugby, because the media is less invasive here. People can get on with just coaching and playing rugby.
In the western world, rugby has become part of the big media picture. That brings all the good things but it also brings a pressure to coaches and players.
Eddie Jones on Farrell
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