Owen Farrell has revealed the hilarious conversation that followed him catching his eldest son wearing an Ireland rugby shirt.
Father-of-two Farrell captains England and dad Andy is head coach of an Irish side ranked number one in the world.
It makes for an eye-catching Six Nations rivalry, particularly as the two countries meet in Dublin on the final weekend. And Farrell jnr admits the battle for hearts and minds within the family has already kicked off.
The 31-year old said: “My eldest, Tommy, has an Ireland shirt and I asked him why?
“He replied, ‘it’s grandad’s team’ and I said ‘you can wear a suit like grandad does, then, not the kit!’”
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Owen Farrell lines up with fellow captains at Six Nations launch (David Rogers/Getty Images)It did not end there as Owen, who had a trial with Manchester United when he was 13, discovered another ‘gift’ from dad for his boys.
“They’re into anything and my dad got them a Man City top,” he said. “I’m not happy about that either!”
The pair have enjoyed a playful, but ultra-competitive, rivalry for as long as they can remember.
“He was, yeah, very competitive,” recalled Andy when father and son played together for Saracens.
Owen Farrell celebrates England snatching a draw against New Zealand in November (Getty Images)“He says he never lets me win,” interjected Owen. “But I always win anyway.”
“He never wins anything!” came the reply, quick as a flash. “Even if we were to play tiddlywinks tomorrow I’d never let him win. But he is getting to that stage now where I have to be on my toes.”
“It got to that stage about five years ago!” laughed Owen.
“He says he never lets me win, but I always win anyway” - Owen in 2008 on rivalry with dad Andy (David Rogers)The joking ends this weekend when Ireland run into a fired-up Warren Gatland in Cardiff and England look to end six years without a home win over Scotland in Steve Borthwick’s first game in charge.
Farrell Jnr comes into it refreshed and recharged having enjoyed family time whilst completing his ban for a high tackle.
“I’ve a young family which is a brilliant thing for me,” he said. “It’s hard to be anywhere else when you’re in the company of my two little boys.
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Smiles better: Steve Borthwick takes his first training session as England head coach (Dan Mullan - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)“When you get to that dinner time, bath time, bed time routine about 5 o’clock there’s no getting out of that.
“They were dressed up as Spiderman and Batman yesterday. Someone sent us a picture and said they looked like Del Boy and Rodney when they were dressed as Batman and Robin.”
Scotland’s last two visits to England’s HQ have seen them bag a draw from 31-0 down - then notch their first Twickenham win since 1983.
Owen Farrell has retained England captaincy under Borthwick (Getty Images)“They’re a brilliant team at the moment,” Farrell conceded. “It’s up to us to be in the best place possible come the weekend.”
Booed off the pitch in the autumn England are on a mission to win back their fans.
“It’s a massive challenge but we’re looking forward to getting back out in front of our home crowd and fighting for each other,” said Farrell. “There’s no better place to do that.”
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