LONDON • Ireland coach Andy Farrell once joked that his son Owen never beat him at anything, not even tiddlywinks.
But the England captain can have the last laugh in today's Six Nations clash at Twickenham.
He can inflict his father's first defeat as Ireland head coach, and end Irish hopes of both the Triple Crown (beating the other three Home Nations sides, including Wales and Scotland) and the Grand Slam (winning all five matches).
It will be a different atmosphere to the last time the Farrells were in a stadium together for a Test.
Andy admits his "nerves went through the roof" watching Owen and his teammates produce their best performance under Eddie Jones in beating two-time defending champions New Zealand in last year's World Cup semi-final.
The 44-year-old was an England fan for the day because Ireland - at the time he was their defence coach - had been soundly beaten by the All Blacks the week before in the quarter-finals.
"Now that was tough," Andy said. "I was back to being a parent again and that's tougher than being a coach against your son.
"I actually did the whole fan-family thing that day on purpose, to get back to how it felt before all this ever happened."
"All this" encapsulates quite a lot.
At the 2015 World Cup, he was defence coach and his son a key player as England fell at the pool stage.
Jones came in to replace Stuart Lancaster and opted to let the father go, saying the family dynamic would not work.
Yet father and son are used to setting aside family ties when it comes to sports.
"We're very competitive, yeah," Andy said previously in a joint interview with Owen, 28.
"He (Owen) says he never lets me win but I always win anyway.
"He never wins anything. Even playing tiddlywinks tomorrow I would never let him win."
Today's match will be the first time the pair have been in opposition since Andy was appointed Ireland head coach following the World Cup.
Promoted from within the set-up after Joe Schmidt stood down, he has enjoyed wins over Scotland and Six Nations title holders Wales.
Those victories have left the Irish just 80 minutes away from a Triple Crown.
England have not been quite the same side since their stunning win over the All Blacks was followed a week later by a crushing 32-12 defeat by South Africa in the final.
They suffered a 24-17 loss away to France in their Six Nations opener before a hard-fought 13-6 win over Scotland at Murrayfield.
Jones has shuffled his backs, with Elliot Daly returning to full-back after George Furbank suffered a recurrence of a longstanding hip and groin problem.
Jonathan Joseph, normally a centre, will mark his 50th Test cap by making his first start in the wing berth vacated by Daly.
Powerhouse centre Manu Tuilagi returns after overcoming the minor groin injury in the defeat by France, while Ben Youngs is restored to the starting line for what will be the scrum-half's 100th international appearance. In the pack, Courtney Lawes moves from lock to blindside flanker.
Ireland were forced into making a late alteration on Friday to what had been an unchanged team when lock Iain Henderson pulled out, his place taken by Devin Toner.
And if they can deny England their favoured fast start, Owen may well enjoy the bragging rights in the Farrell family.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
