Owen Farrell’s Heated Rivalry with one Springbok: “Very Different Characters”

His outspoken nature is a reflection of his passionate and fearless personality, unafraid to speak his mind on and off the pitch.

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Former England lock Attwood has opened up on the latest RugbyPass Offload about his ongoing rivalry with Owen Farrell.

He revealed: "On the pitch, I struggle a lot with Owen Farrell. We just don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things,

“He hates me with a passion. Despite my earthy roots, he thinks I am a posh c***. He hates that. I bagged rugby league once jovially. I was saying it to take the piss kind of thing, ‘a bloody sport for the peasants’. He f**kin’ hated it."

The Scotland back-rower was the instigator in some tunnel argy-bargy when the players returned to the changing rooms after the warm-up back in 2018 with Farrell at the centre.

Footage of the incident shows all hell breaking loose when Farrell barged his way past a number of Scotland players to confront Wilson, who had been attempting to get inside the head of George Ford.

Wilson later revealed he was banned from Twickenham following the incident.

“I remember that game, I was actually injured and after tunnel-gate, after everything that happened in the tunnel against England, I’d lined up a corporate gig at Twickenham,” he recalled to Rugby Pass in November.

“Had it all lined up, a little bit of cash, all excited, only to get a message back saying the RFU have banned you from Twickenham Stadium after everything that happened the year before.

The pair have what we can only describe as a love-hate relationship. As legendary as the 'best mates' videos were during the 2016 tour of Australia, Farrell certainly didn't seem to be enjoying it.

The former England captain's near rivalry with South Africa reached a boiling point when he almost decapitated André Esterhuizen with a shoulder charge and escaped without punishment.

However, there is one Bok he has faced off with multiple times. Farrell and Faf de Klerk had a tense encounter in 2018 during their summer tour, with the two coming face to face just before the 20-minute mark, sparking a melee between the sides.

Since then, the two have clashed on several occasions, including during the 2019 World Cup final a year later. De Klerk clearly knows how to get under Farrell’s skin, and there seems to be little love lost between them.

Speaking about the pair, Tom Curry described them as 'very different characters'.