Owen Farrell has started at fly-half in 31 of his 35 Tests for England

Owen Farrell applies a simple, grounded philosophy to all aspects of his rugby career: 'Just get on with it.' He is never too high, never too low and rarely flustered.

So a temporary positional shift will be taken in his stride.

Farrell is a fly-half. That is where he has started 31 of his 35 Tests for England. He is a No 10 down to his shooting boots, but Eddie Jones, the new national coach, wants him to fill in at inside centre in the opening games of this year's Six Nations — with George Ford in the primary playmaker role.

Owen Farrell has been a mainstay at No 10 for Saracens but is set for a switch to centre for the Six Nations

Farrell is set to operate at No 12 outside Bath fly-half George Ford (right) during the forthcoming tournament

Farrell's farther Andy (right) is no longer a part of the England backroom team after the World Cup debacle

It may not be his preference, but the 24-year-old will just get on with it, on the basis that the coaches will allow him to play his own game.

'I don't think someone would pick me at 12 to suddenly knock the ball up with every carry I do,' he said. 'If someone wanted me to play at 12 it would be for a reason — because I have the skill-set to play the way they want me to there. That's pretty much it.'

No fuss, no drama. Farrell will just carry on where he left off in midfield, during the final game of the host nation's sadly abbreviated World Cup campaign.

That was a hollow 60-3 win over Uruguay in Manchester. Since then, Farrell has been back at Saracens, pulling the strings with real authority as the Aviva Premiership champions have seen off all-comers, until last weekend's defeat at Harlequins.

Farrell has started at fly-half in 31 of his 35 Test for England but is happy to slot in at inside centre, if needed

He has certainly impressed his club boss. Mark McCall, Saracens' director of rugby, believes Farrell is in the form of his life. 'Owen has been brilliant this season,' he said. 'He's playing as well as he's ever played. He's been brilliant defensively but really attacked the line and made things happen. There's a good balance to his game.'

There is a widespread perception of the two leading rivals for the England No 10 position, partly caused by the contrasting tactical approach of their clubs.

Bath's Ford is seen as a natural attacking talent, while Farrell is heralded for his goal-kicking, temperament and defensive qualities.

Farrell fires over a penalty kick during England's defeat by Australia at Twickenham during the World Cup

FARRELL FACTS Age: 24 Born: Billinge, Wigan Height: 6ft 2in Weight: 14st 6lb SARACENS CAREER Apps: 120 PoinTS: 1,192 Debut: v Scarlets, Oct 2008 Honours: 2 Premiership titles ENGLAND CAREER Caps: 35 Points: 343 Debut: v Scotland, Feb 2012 LIONS CAREER Caps: 1 Points: 0 Debut: v Australia, Jul 2013 Advertisement

McCall's point is that his repertoire is expanding. Asked if he feels he has improved, Farrell said: 'I hope so, yeah! You want to get better at everything. You want to evolve as the game evolves. Things happen in rugby for certain amounts of time so you try to get better at that and move with the time. You try to stay a step ahead, but when you're in it, you don't really sit back and say 'I've got better at this' or 'I'm doing all right at this'.'

For the first time since his emergence in senior rugby, as a teenager armed with astonishing mental strength under pressure, Farrell will not be working with his father, Andy, in an official capacity.

In fact, they will become rivals as Andy will soon take over as Ireland's defence coach, having been on hand throughout Owen's rapid rise with Saracens, England and the Lions.

When Farrell Jr is questioned on the subject, he bristles at the assertion that father and son handled the difficult 'dynamic' well, saying: 'Not everyone said that — that the dynamic worked well, did they? That's from the outside though.

'It's no different for me. He's part of a new set-up now and that's his challenge. For me, you just get on with what's in front of you. I've had him around a fair bit since I started playing but it makes no difference to me. It's always been separate to him being my dad anyway.

Farrell is smashed in the tackle by Taulupe Faletau (left) and Alun Wyn Jones during England's loss to Wales

'I've never gone into a camp and had a coffee with him or anything — unless it was for him to tell me off! There was never that dynamic anyway, so it's just like working with a new coach.'

Asked if he believes that Ireland have signed a good coach, he said: 'From my experiences, yeah, but that's my opinion.'

When Farrell joins up with England after next weekend's European fixtures, he will do so as a senior figure in the ranks, despite still being relatively young.

There is a debate about the England captaincy and he is someone who could, theoretically, come into the equation. He sees taking responsibility as part of his playmaker brief.

Farrell has defended his club Saracens amid criticism that the club employ negative tactics

'As a fly-half, you are pretty much a leader anyway,' he said. 'You boss everyone around and try to have an influence on people. It (captaincy) isn't something I worry about.'

On Saturday afternoon at Allianz Park, Saracens can secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup if they beat Ulster, who are also in the hunt after rallying from 23-0 down to win at Oyonnax. Saracens will be eager to resume normal service after losing to Quins and Farrell says they deserve more credit, rather than criticism, for negative tactics.

'We get a fair amount of stick here for the way we do things,' he said. 'You are labelled as this, that and the other. The credit to us is that we've stuck at what we're good at. We're bothered about us, not bothered about what people think from the outside.'