Farrell outshone his opposite number and England incumbent Toby Flood, who surprisingly missed two penalties from in front of the posts during the second half, by kicking five penalties as well as converting a try by James Short.
Saracens hooker Schalk Brits, who put himself back in the frame for a further caps for the Springboks with a stunning man-of-the-match performance, said Farrell was destined for a long career with England.
“Farrell is a kid who played like a man today,” said Brits. “He will just get better with age and will, as he gets old, dominate more in attack and organizing the backline even more.
“For a kid of 19 to play rugby like that is a phenomenal feat. He’ll get better and better and is a great player. He’ll definitely play international rugby, it is just a question of when, without a doubt.”
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall also hailed Farrell’s performance.
“Every time that a new challenge has been presented to Owen this year, he has risen to that challenge,” he said. “For a guy who is in his first year out of school, to play with that kind of composure and that kind of control against opposition is a remarkable performance.”
McCall also paid tribute to his side’s heroic defensive display as Saracens withstood 32 phases on their line to prevent Leicester scoring what would have been a match-winning try.
“It would have been very difficult for us to have lost at the end but it was a fitting end to the match because it tells you a lot about Leicester; the fact that they were 19-9 down but refused to give up,” added McCall. “But it hopefully tells you something about our squad and our team as well. We refused to yield and fought and fought at the end. We hope that today is the start of something, not the end of something.”
Richard Cockerill, the Leicester director of rugby, conceded that Saracens “probably deserved their victory” but once again pointed a finger at England for Flood’s drop in kicking accuracy.
“He (Toby) went to England with a certain kicking percentage and came back with a different one that was lower,” said Cockerill. “He was not responsible for the result today but that whole issue with his kicking has been a problem ever since the autumn Tests. We lost today but the season was not a disaster.”
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