6 Best Fly-Halves In The World Have Been Named And Ranked

Honourable mentions:

BEST FLY-HALVES:

#6. Paolo Garbisi (Italy)

• Age:22
• Cap: 20

#5. Owen Farrell (England)

• Age:31
• Cap: 97

Owen Farrell of England warms up before the Autumn Nations Match between England and Australia at Twickenham on 13 November 2021. Photo: Micah Crook/PPAUK

1. The Saracens star went to school with England teammate George Ford.
2. He became the youngest ever player to appear in English professional rugby, making his debut aged 17 and 11 days.
3. It’s well known that Owen is the son of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. However, it’s less commonly know that his uncle Sean O’Loughlin is also a rugby league legend, winning 34 caps for Great Britain between 1993 and 2009.
4. Owen Farrell married his longtime girlfriend Georgina “Georgie” Farrell (née Lyon) in July 2018. Their son, Tommy Farrell, was born in March 2019. 
5. He was not at first registered as a Farrell, but took mum Colleen’s family name of O’Loughlin. The couple married in 1995, changing Owen’s surname to Farrell the following year.
6. In 2005, the 13-year-old Farrell had a trial with Manchester United, and did enough to convince the club’s academy executives that the then goalkeeper deserved an extended spell with the club. 

#4. Marcus Smith (England)

• Age: 23
• Caps: 13

Marcus Smith of England celebrates after winning during the Autumn Nations Match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on 20 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK

Smith Facts:

1. Smith was born in Manila in the Philippines and picked up the game at the age of 7 with Centaurs RFC when his family decided to move to Singapore, he learnt the game there before moving to Sussex as a 13-year old
2. His Dad, Jeremy Smith lived in Hong Kong from 1992-97, playing for Valley and the national side at fly-half
3. At just 18 years of age and 200 days, he made his Premiership debut at Twickenham to become the youngest fly-half to start in the top flight since a 17-year old George Ford
4. He is known to many of his teammates as Smudge, which is the traditional military nickname for anyone with the surname Smith.

#3. Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand)

• Age:28
• Caps: 43

1. The fly-half played for the Barbarians against New Zealand before he made his international debut
2. Mo’unga showed off his piano skills in some YouTube videos posted from hotels in Japan during the 2019 Rugby World Cup
3. A racehorse that Mo’unga has a 10% share is named after the fly-half

#2. Finn Russell (Scotland)

• Age: 30
• Caps: 63

1. After secondary school, Russell worked for three years as a stonemason
2. Russell has been nicknamed 'Russell the Muscle' due to having a somewhat slender build for a modern-day rugby player
3. His grandparents were international badminton players and his uncle and great-grandfather played Cricket for Scotland
4. In 2018, Finn Russell was capped with the Barbarians against England. He scored 19 points (1 try and a 7/7 kicking conversions), allowing his team win 45–63 at Twickenham

#1. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

• Age:37
• Caps: 43

Johnny Sexton of Ireland celebrates after the six Nations Championship match, between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium, London , UK, on the 17th March 2017. (Photo:Dean Lancaster/PPAUK)

1. He was part of the first Ireland men’s team to beat New Zealand in a Test match
2. Sexton played in all six Tests on the 2013 and 2017 British & Irish Lions tours
3. He married his childhood sweetheart Laura Priestley in 2013 
4. His favourite TV show is the Netflix hit 

   Narcos and his favourite film is Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 release Inglourious Basterds

   .