England manager Kevin Sinfield admits Owen Farrell needs to learn how to play safely

England manager Kevin Sinfield has revealed that Owen Farrell “accepts he has to move” after his last suspension for dangerous tackles.

Farrell, who has been named England captain, is serving a four-​​game suspension, reduced to three if he attends a tackle clinic.

The reduction means he will be available for England’s Six Nations opener against Scotland, but Sinfield has increased the need for his players to approach safely.

England captain Owen Farrell has been suspended after a dangerous tackle against an opponent

The four-game suspension is reduced to three games after Farrell attended a tackle clinic

“I think in all of sport we know we need to change,” Sinfield said. “Owen fully accepts that he needs to change and is willing to work extremely hard to make it happen.

“Interestingly, Steve [Borthwick] reminded me of our second meeting in my kitchen in Oldham. We talked about device height 18 months ago. We knew it was an issue within the sport, we both fully support the safety measures in place.

“We discussed those early doors. Anyone who worked with me at Leicester will know how hard we worked after the tackle height. We want children all over the country to take good roles, boys and girls to play our sport.

Coach Kevin Sinfield has admitted that dangerous tackles need to be addressed throughout sport

“We want parents to be happy that their children are playing, so we totally support the safety measures.

“We will work hard on the duel level in our squad from day one. We don’t shy away from the need to change the game.

“Our elite players need to make some adjustments, but we both also understand that we will make mistakes along the way, as will the players. How we deal with that is going to be really, really important.”

The RFU’s legal department intervened over the weekend, writing a controversial letter to Saracens about his availability for his club, ensuring he could be selected for the Six Nations.

Boss Steve Borthwick confirmed that the Fly half will be available for the launch of the Six Nations

Borthwick distanced himself from the legal loophole, saying: “This process is independent of me and I think the process should always be independent of the coach.

“We all wanted clarity and I was looking for clarity last week. On Friday I received clarity and on Saturday it was publicly announced that it was available.

“I follow the process. I looked for clarity, I got clarity on Friday and I was clearly told that Owen is available for selection and then it’s my job to coach the players and pick them accordingly.