England coach Eddie Jones believes Owen Farrell is treated differently by officials because he is tough enough to play through the pain.
Farrell has been at the centre of controversy this week after his dangerous tackle on Bok centre André Esterhuizen went unpunished last Saturday.
The England co-captain picked up a hip injury against the Boks, but has been cleared to face the All Blacks this Saturday.
Jones suggested that hits on Farrell sometimes went unnoticed because he didn’t make a fuss about it.
‘Because he’s Owen Farrell, he’s allowed to be hit late. He’s tough so he gets up and he plays. He’s a tough rooster, a warrior. He takes the ball to the line, he puts his body on the line, he doesn’t play in a dinner suit.’
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Jones said that they had once again needed to manage Farrell’s workload in training this week.
‘Players like him are never 100% right. They get on the field, they play and they give you everything they’ve got and he’s like that.
‘He wants to play every week. If we are playing marbles on a Wednesday, he wants to play. He’s a competitor. You can’t put blokes like him in cotton wool.’
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