England captain Owen Farrell has announced he is taking a break from international rugby.

His club side Saracens said the 32-year-old was stepping back from the national side to “prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being”.

It means the fly-half will not be available for selection for the 2024 Six Nations.

He will continue to play for Saracens and captain the club.

“As always, Owen will have the full support of everyone at the club,” Saracens said in a statement.

Farrell is England’s highest points scorer of all time in rugby union, with more than 1,200 points in 112 tests for his country.

He eclipsed the previous record of 1,179, set by England’s Rugby World Cup-winning fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, in October in a match against Samoa.

Farrell made his debut for England in 2012 against Scotland in that year’s Six Nations tournament.

He kicked two penalties and a conversion in his first game, before following up with a faultless kicking display against Italy in his next – eventually finishing the competition with 63 points from five games.

Farrell was one of England’s vice-captains in the 2016 Grand Slam Six Nations win and helped his country retain the trophy the following year.

He also captained the side to the 2020 Six Nations trophy, as well as a second-placed finish in the 2019 Rugby World Cup and a third-placed finish in this year’s tournament.

However, while a vocal player on the field, former England coach Stuart Lancaster told The Times newspaper in 2022 that he is “more introverted than extroverted” off it.

“I’ve always been comfortable speaking, especially on the field. Probably not as much off the field,” Farrell told the BBC in 2018.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Related posts:

Britons urged not to ‘blow’ COVID progress as UK could see hottest March day on record Police not trained to restrain head with foot, trial of PC accused of ex-footballer’s murder hears ‘Unprecedented pressure’ for this time of year: NHS under strain even before winter peak, boss warns Christian Eriksen makes Brentford debut eight months after cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 Heartbreak for Cameron Norrie as he loses Wimbledon semi to Novak Djokovic Gender guidance for schools to be published after ‘concerning’ report Weapons and live ammunition found in gun factory raid, say investigators Princess of Wales pictured wearing keeper’s suit to tend beehive Four people found dead in west London flat named Prince William beams with children in photo released for Father’s Day Northern Lights could be visible for parts of UK until Saturday Investigation into whether prison was understaffed when terror suspect Daniel Khalife escaped