ENGLAND international rugby union captain Owen Farrell’s father is also a big name in the sport.
The Farrells seemingly have rugby flowing through their veins — here we take a look at Owen’s father Andy, his life and career.
Owen Farrell and Andy Farrell prior to the match between the Highlanders and the British & Irish Lions at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, June 2017Sportsfile
Who is Owen Farrell’s father, rugby star Andy Farrell?
As well as being the proud dad of England captain Owen Farrell, Andy David Farrell OBE, born on May 30, 1975, is a former professional rugby league and union player, and is also the current head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team, a position he has held since 2019.
As a Wigan legend Andy won the RFL and Super League a staggering seven times, as well as the Challenge Cup on six occasions.
He played for Wigan Warriors over 300 times during a 13-year career, captained Great Britain and represented England in two World Cups.
For England he was a Rugby League World Cup runner-up, losing to Australia in a heartbreaking final.
In 2004, he won the Golden Boot awarded to the best players in the world, retiring on a high in 2005.
But, much to everyone’s surprise, he decided to sign for Saracens to play union.
Injuries and a car crash delayed the debut until 2006, when he found his position at centre for the Sarries.
In 2007, Andy made his England rugby union debut against Scotland in the Six Nations.
He was part of the England squad at the 2007 Rugby World Cup but only made eight international appearances in total.
A disappointing World Cup campaign saw him having to pull out of the quarter-final decider against Australia with a calf injury.
In 2009, he announced his retirement and took up a coaching role with Saracens at the end of the season.
After three seasons there, he gained further experience over another three-year spell as England’s defence coach, before assuming the same role with Ireland.
In 2019 he was made head coach of the Irish national union side.
How old was Andy Farrell when Owen was born?
Andy and his wife Colleen were only 16 years old when their son Owen was born.
The couple has another son, their youngest child, named Gabriel.
They also have two other children in daughters Elleshia and Gracie, who are both closer in age to Owen than Gabriel.
Is Andy Farrell still married?
Wigan native Andy wed Colleen, the sister of his former Wigan teammate Sean O’Loughlin, in 1995.
The childhood sweethearts got married after the birth of their first son Owen in 1991.
As a result, the surname on Owen’s birth certificate originally was his mother’s family name, O’Loughlin, but was changed to Farrell after the couple tied the knot.
The couple are still together to this day — heading into their third decade of marriage.
Does Andy Farrell coach Ireland?
After a year as Saracens first team coach, Farrell joined England’s coaching team in 2012.
In 2013, he toured with the British and Irish Lions as defence coach in Australia, earning special praise from Warren Gatland.
Farrell was then sacked by new England coach Eddie Jones in 2015 after the Australian took over following a group stage World Cup exit.
Interestingly, son Owen then progressed to become England captain under Jones after Dylan Hartley was dropped.
Partly as a result of his successful British and Irish Lions campaign, Andy Farrell was picked up by former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt and named defence coach in 2016.
He then helped the Irish to a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2018.
Following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Schmidt stepped down as Ireland head coach, with Andy Farrell named his successor.
Since being appointed in 2019, he has led them to the top of the world rankings.