England fly-half was rested for last weekend’s Gallagher Premiership success at home to Wasps

Ham & High: Saracens' Alex Lewington tries to break free of the Wasps defence (pic: Victoria Jones/PA)Saracens' Alex Lewington tries to break free of the Wasps defence (pic: Victoria Jones/PA) (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Saracens will be boosted for their Heineken Champions Cup clash at home to Cardiff Blues on Sunday by the return of fly-half Owen Farrell.

Several of the north Londoners’ international stars returned to club action in last weekend’s 29-6 win at home to Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership, but Farrell was not one of them.

Instead, the 27-year-old was rested by director of rugby Mark McCall after a gruelling start to the new term for club and country.

Farrell will be back for the Allianz Park club this weekend, though, and McCall is confident the fly-half will be all the better for his break.

“Everyone is a bit different and everyone has their own individuals plans over the next six weeks,” said the Saracens chief after the win over Wasps.

“In Owen’s case, it’s not just the playing time he had, but also the responsibility of being England co-captain.

“I felt it was a good idea to get him away from rugby for a week so we could get him back fresh, more mentally that physically.”

McCall will hope that when Farrell returns this weekend, he can make an impact similar to the one England colleague Jamie George made against Wasps.

Back in the starting XV after returning from England duty, the hooker scored the first try and was later awarded man of the match for his efforts.

It was a strong display from George after an Autumn Internationals campaign that saw him seemingly nail down the spot as England’s starting hooker.

McCall will hope for another strong display from the 28-year-old this Sunday and was pleased to be able to call on him again following his recent absence owing to international duty.

“It’s great for us to have a player who starts for England and play as well as he did against Australia, but want to come back and contribute to his club which means a lot to him,” added McCall.

“With all the international players, it’s always a pleasure to have them back because of their attitude.”

Against Cardiff, Saracens will be looking to strengthen their position at the top of Pool Three.

The north Londoners have already beaten Glasgow Warriors and Lyon in Europe this term and will be looking to add the Blues to that list in their quest for a home quarter-final.