Racing 92 boss ‘felt like throwing up’ after being ‘betrayed’ by Owen Farrell
Owen Farrell with an inset of Jacky Lorenzetti
Racing 92 chairman Jacky Lorenzetti has slammed the manner of the departure of former England captain Owen Farrell, detailing that he felt ‘betrayed’ after seeing him play for the British and Irish Lions.
Farrell joined the Parisians at the start of last season, but after just one campaign in the French top flight, the versatile back has made a high-profile return to his previous club, Saracens. His time in the French capital was also blighted by injuries, with Farrell suffering a groin injury and later ending his time at the club with a concussion.
But, shortly after his departure from the club, Farrell was drafted into the Lions touring party in Australia, and went on to make the 23-man squad for the final two Tests of the series.
‘It’s called lying’
“I felt like throwing up,” Lorenzetti told L’Équipe. “He left us saying: ‘I’m injured, I have a headache (following a concussion picked up in May), I want to play less. Saracens are offering me this opportunity.’ And suddenly, we find him with the Lions.
“It’s something I don’t understand. It’s called lying.”
Owen Farrell joins Siya Kolisi on six mega-money ‘flops’ list at Racing 92
He added: “It feels good to let him go. I felt betrayed.”
Farrell is one of a number of high-profile players to depart the club swiftly after joining. Springbok captain Siya Kolisi joined Racing 92 ahead of the 2023/24 season but departed after just one season, while Dan Carter and Jonny Sexton both struggled to find their feet in the Top 14.
“There’s a mentality flaw,” Lorenzetti added. “When you come to a club with a very good salary, you commit yourself, and the counterpart of this salary is still a performance; you have to deliver. And here, it wasn’t delivered.”
Lorenzetti also insisted the club will now turn their attention to developing young talent, rather than attracting stars to the La Defence Arena.
“We had a strategy where we were going to look for the great player,” he said. “Now, we want to focus on youth, the training centre and the mentality.”
Racing do have some promising talent coming through the ranks, too, with the highlight arguably being current England U20s star Junior Kpoku.
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