Michael Owen has long been known for his offbeat punditry, but in a recent chat with former England teammate Rio Ferdinand, he may have just dialed it up a notch.
He started with respect, tipping his hat to Jonny Wilkinson’s legendary status—then plunged straight into a jaw-raising rant.
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“Oh yeah. England rugby player, Lions rugby player — I mean, just the greatest, the greatest kicker ever. I was up at Newcastle; he played for Newcastle Falcons. We were sharing the same… he came in to do this in our big dome, middle of winter. He came in and placed about twenty balls across the whole pitch halfway line.”
What followed was Owen’s vivid recollection of Wilkinson’s training ritual.
“He’d start on the first one and knock it over, knock it over, and then let’s say he missed the third one — he’d go collect the balls, put them back, start again. Yeah. And then he’d go bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang — nineteen in a row. Miss one over here? Start again. He wouldn’t leave the place until he’d done it all. I look at that and think — that’s weak. You can’t get over missing one?”
Owen admits he respects the dedication but questions the mentality behind it.
“Now, don’t get me wrong — practice, practice, practice all you like, that’s incredible. You know, keep practicing. But to start again and almost punish yourself for it? I’d be like, don’t do that. If I miss ten chances the day before, that’s practice. I’m going to Anfield — I raise my game at Anfield. I don’t miss at Anfield. That’s my mentality. It’s me, me, me… mentality.”
The conversation took a philosophical turn as Owen reflected on the difference between the two careers.
“And how you can… it just shows you listen, elite, absolute elite. Jonny Wilkinson — legend, absolute. But he did it totally the opposite to somebody else that can be elite. I had a filter that could just wipe that off a duck’s back. I’d still go and, you know, still go from the halfway line and finish.
“Yeah, that’s how I — that was my mentality. Both players had a lot of injuries. The difference between Owen and Wilkinson. One overcame it to establish himself as one of the greatest players of all time and the other ended their career as a joke. Up to you which ones which.”
Both players battled plenty of injuries. The difference? One fought through them to become one of the greatest players of all time — the other limped out of the game a punchline. Up to you which is which.
The 5 Best Fly-Halves Of All Time, Listed And Ranked
r’s overall contribution to the game. So who makes it into our top five?
All stats come from ESPN.com and are correct as of the publish date.
5 Best Fly-Halves Of All Time
#5. Jonathan Davies (Wales)
Cross-code star Jiffy made up for his lack of height, standing 5ft 8in, with great pace, great acceleration and natural quality.
The fly-half would have made a lot more appearances for Wales if he had not switched to Rugby League between 1989 and 1995.
During his two periods in Union, he made a total 37 appearances for Wales and is considered one of Wales’s finest ever rugby talents.
Did you know? Davies has since become a television rugby football commentator and media personality, in both the Welsh and English languages.
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