Six Nations: England captain Owen Farrell says build-up has been ‘different’ after Saracens relegation

England and Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell is hoping the Six Nations will provide an escape after a “different” build-up to the annual tournament.

Saracens will be relegated from the Premiership at the end of the season following salary cap breaches.

Eddie Jones’ England gather for the first time on Wednesday ahead of their opener against France on 2 February.

“It’s been different over the last couple of days,” said Farrell, one of seven Sarries in the 34-man squad.

England begin a seven-day training camp in Portugal on Thursday before their Six Nations opener in Paris.

Talking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast, England captain Farrell added: “We’ve had chats individually for the lads that are going away. Nothing’s set in stone yet so I’m not going to go into it.

“That has given us enough clarity that we’re excited about what’s in front of us which is the most important thing.”

Farrell, 28, made his senior debut for Saracens in 2008 and has played 188 times for the side.

The Rugby Football Union confirmed that players can be picked for England from the Championship but there has been much speculation about whether Farrell will stick with Sarries when they are relegated.

The fly-half says “there’s an idea” of what he is going to do, but added: “There’s a fair few moving parts to it so nothing is set in stone.”

Farrell turns focus to England and Six Nations

England head coach Jones said the side would hold talks to resolve any anger among the squad relating to Saracens.

And Farrell insists he is “clear enough” on his club future to “crack on and enjoy” being with the international team.

“It’s always brilliant to see the lads again then get going, see where we can take this,” he said.

“For me it’s unbelievably exciting and I’m sure it is for the rest of the lads so we’ll get together and see where we’re at.

“We’ve got a bit of an idea about our own situations but you’re stepping away from the club where there’s a lot of different ones going on.”

‘Disappointing’ World Cup will be discussed

England assemble at their Bagshot base on Wednesday for the first time since losing the World Cup final to South Africa in November.

Jones has selected 22 players from the World Cup squad for the Six Nations, as well as eight uncapped players.

Farrell says the “disappointing” result in Japan will also be a subject of discussion when the squad gets together.

“What’s happened since [the World Cup], everybody will be in a different situation and that’s what we’ll have a chat about when we’re all together,” he explained.

“We’ll get it all out in the open and get it sorted so that we can crack on with the rugby.

“It’s only every four years that you get together for that amount of time. This group grew a lot over that time.

“I don’t think we can assume that tightness is going to stay the way it is. We’ve got to make sure we work at it and push on with it.”