UPDATE: Following Bulls jeers, a former England prop targets Owen Farrell’s detractors.

Former England prop David Flatman, who is currently a commentator, was vehemently critical of Owen Farrell’s treatment against the Bulls.

In their Champions Cup opening match in Pretoria, Saracens took against the South African team, with the Red Rose captain in action.

Despite the problems Farrell has clearly been having over the past year, the locals did not like him and heckled him throughout the match.

Taking a break from Test rugby

The 32-year-old recently said that he will be retiring from international rugby in order to save the mental health of himself and his family.

This happened after he was regularly the focus of trolls on social media and was jeered throughout the Rugby World Cup, even by England fans.

After the game, Bulls head coach Jake White quickly expressed regret for the crowd behavior, and Flatman concurred that it was wrong.

“Just to separate it, I don’t mind a little bit of booing of opposition players when their names are announced and a bit of sporting hostility – a bit of pretend sporting hatred. I don’t mind that,” he said on ITV Sport.

“But you’ve all got phones, you all read the internet, you all know that he’s struggling and he’s stepped back. If there’s a time to have a day off, that’s your time to have a day off.”

While his teammates hold Farrell in high regard, fans do not seem to share this admiration for his moral fiber or all-around skill as a player.

As a result, Flatman has asked the supporters to pay attention to the views of players who both support and oppose him and who regard the playmaker as among the greatest in the world.

Top five player

“All the people that are sending him abuse on social media and are booing him, they will have players that they idolise that they think are great and whose opinions they think are valid,” he added.

“You ask those players who the best players are they play against, play with, the players they would most quite like to have in their team. Owen Farrell will be in most of their heroes’ top three, or top five at least, he’s that good.

“The reality is that social media is largely unregulated and there are people receiving a lot of abuse all over the place. There’s a lot of great stuff on there, it’s very handy for some things, but unfortunately that is set to continue.