England captain Owen Farrell declares 'I want to play as long as I can' as he sets sight on 2027 Rugby World Cup

England captain Owen Farrell has brushed off any talk of an international retirement after insisting "I want to play as long as I can."

A number of high-profile England stars have called time on their test careers following the third-placed finish at the Rugby World Cup in France.

Farrell will be 36 by the time the tournament next takes place in 2027, but he has firmly set his sights on lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in Australia in four years.

"I want to play as long as I can if I'm excited about what I’m doing," he said.

"I absolutely love what I do, I'm passionate about it, and I don't see that slowing down. I wouldn’t sit down and set targets.

"I also wouldn't say they [thoughts of retirement] are not in the back of my head. They are there in the background.

"You want to make sure that you're playing well and your focus is on now. We'll see what happens."

Should he play until the next World Cup, Farrell will surely become England's all-time leading appearance maker.

The No. 10 is already third on the list with 112 caps, behind Ben Youngs, 127, and Jason Leonard, 114, with the former calling time on his international career last month.

Courtney Lawes and Jonny May are among the other England players who've decided to hang up their Red Rose shirts following the World Cup.

Steve Borthwick, who is now attempting rebuild the squad ahead of the Six Nations, which get underway in February, saw his side suffer a heartbreaking semi-final loss at the hands of eventual winners South Africa in France.

And Farrell, who has already scored more points for his country than anybody else, admits it's taken sometime to get over the manner of their World Cup exit.

"I wouldn't say I've digested it all," continued the Saracens fly-half, "but I thought it was a brilliant tournament. I thought the atmosphere was brilliant but it was just a couple of steps too far for us which was disappointing and it's still a tough one.

"We've had [club] games to get our teeth stuck into and pretty big games at that. At times I thought it was the best thing for us. I felt better after playing for Sarries."

With club rugby taking centre stage between now and the Six Nations, Farrell's attentions are turning to the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Saracens' first game of the tournament is a trip to Pretoria to face Blue Bulls on December 9.

Farrell, though, won't be taking his World Cup frustrations out on the South African outfit.

"It's not about, that game when we go to Pretoria," he insisted. "It's an exciting challenge for us at the club, one that we'll be looking forward to.

"We didn't get the chance to play a South African side last year in the competition, so it's new for us still and it'll be a bit different playing in the sunshine in December.

"It might be a nice change, but I'm sure it'll be a tough challenge there."

The Champions Cup gets underway on December 8, with French outfit La Rochelle attempting to defend the title they won last season.

They are one of 24 clubs participating in the event, with teams split into four pools, and the top four teams from each pool qualifying for the last 16.

The final will take place at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25.

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