Jamie George in awe of England's latest centurion Owen Farrell

Owen Farrell has been credited with single-handedly transforming the mindset of English rugby as he prepares to join the nation's small band of Test centurions.

Farrell will win his 100th cap in Saturday’s clash with New Zealand at Twickenham, emulating Jason Leonard and Ben Youngs in reaching the milestone having made his debut as a 20-year-old a decade ago.

But the ripple effect of his influence was felt well before his England odyssey began, according to Jamie George, his long-term friend and team-mate for club and country.

The two first met at a Hertfordshire under-15 trials with Farrell having just arrived from Wigan as a result of his father Andy, the current Ireland head coach, signing for Saracens.

"I was a Saracens fan at the time and first and foremost I was excited to meet Owen, to see what all the hype was about," George said.

"Even then he was a big kid, tall and much more developed. And he was in the year below me at school! I remember him walking over and I was thinking, 'Jesus, he’s massive!’.

"And then as soon as I saw him play he was entirely different to anything I’ve ever seen before in terms of his skill level, desire and the way that he approached the game.

"It made me completely rethink everything. I used to think that I was skillful, but am I actually skillful? No. Do I apply myself in the right way? Well, I used to think I did, but clearly not. It was incredible.

"We then played for Hertfordshire together, joined the Saracens academy together at the same time and I just kept learning from him.

"This was a guy who was younger than the rest of us. At 14 or 15 everyone’s still developing, but he seemed so far ahead.

"Sounds mad, but at that time if he had been thrown in to play a first-team game I would