“John Monie was my coach, and then he started the franchise at the Warriors. You go into the changing room and all the names of every Warrior that’s played for them are around the walls, and No 1 there is Dean Bell, who was my captain, my first ever captain.
“Then there’s Frano Botica, who taught me everything about goal-kicking. I’ve kicked all my life because of Frano. Andy Platt was someone I looked up to massively, and Denis Betts is one of my best mates. The connection’s been there for a long time.”
While Farrell is now better known for his achievements in rugby union, particularly as a coach, he’s still considered a legend in rugby league heartland in the north of England. He won multiple premierships with Wigan, remains the youngest captain of Great Britain at 21, and was recently inducted into the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame.
Webster said he was grateful for the opportunity to observe one of world rugby’s leading international programmes, even if it prompted some good-natured banter.
“I’ve been called a traitor to New Zealand and the All Blacks by text message,” Webster said. “But I certainly wasn’t going to pass that up.”
Andy Farrell (left) attempts to tackle Stacey Jones during a Great Britain v Kiwis test in 2002. Photo / Getty Images
Farrell also relished the opportunity to reconnect with Jones, having faced each other eight times at test level.
“I’ve not seen him for a long time, and he’s still the same laid-back, cheeky chap,” Farrell said. “The meeting room is actually called the Stacey Jones Room, and I asked him for permission to enter and he allowed us to do that.”
Farrell also plans to catch up with Bell before facing the All Blacks and recalled one of the many highlights the pair had together.
“Before my first ever Wembley [final] when I was 17, John Monie put me in a room with Dean because he was the captain, the experienced one, but he was the one that was being sick in the toilet, so he wasn’t a great calming influence for me, but we got over that.”
After spending time at Mt Smart, Farrell said it was easy to see why Webster has transformed the Warriors into genuine NRL premiership contenders.
“It’s awesome,” Farrell said. “They came to our session and we went there yesterday afternoon, and we loved it.
“It’s as good a setup as I’ve seen and Andrew is running a fantastic ship there. You can see why they’re second in the league and why he was coach of the year in his first year. Once you’ve been in the building, you can see why they’re so successful.“
Saturday’s sporting schedule will force Auckland fans to make a choice, with the All Blacks hosting Ireland at Eden Park from 7.10pm, while the Warriors take on St George Illawarra Dragons just 25 minutes later across town in Penrose.
Listen to live commentary of All Blacks v Ireland on Newstalk ZB Sport and iHeartRadio.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.