I'm not ready to retire, says discarded Farrell

The former rugby league star was axed by Brian Ashton when the head coach named his 32-man squad for the Six Nations and the pain of rejection was heightened by the choice of Gloucester wing Lesley Vainikolo, who has switched codes this season.

With Jason Robinson having retired, Farrell was supposed to be the biggest former league name in the union game, but the Tongan-born Vainikolo has now assumed that standing.

Farrell's case for a call-up appears to be hampered by the selectors' decision this week to ignore any Sarries players for the England and England Saxons squads. In contrast, London Wasps supply nine players, London Irish six and Harlequins five.

The 32-year-old helped England reach the final of the Rugby World Cup but the centre knows that he can only work his way back into Ashton's plans by impressing for his club.

"I am big enough to take not getting picked and at some stage in everyone's career someone is going to come and take over," he said.

"I've seen a lot of people retire, but I want to retire for the right reasons. I am thoroughly enjoying playing and fit enough to play at the top level. I am quite happy with my form and believe my best rugby union is still ahead of me.

"I am getting better with every game I play and becoming a lot more confident every time I take the field."

Despite the absence of Sarries names in the England squads, the club are having a good season - they are pressing for a second successive top-four finish in the Guinness Premiership and have a great chance of making the Heineken Cup quarter-finals if they can defeat Biarritz at Vicarage Road.

Farrell added: "To win a trophy with Sarries would be fantastic, but what we need is to get that rugged dominance, the likes that Wasps and Leicester show.

"These are exciting times for the club but we have had a blip over the last couple of weeks losing to Newcastle and Bristol in the league and we need to show how good a side we have become when we play Biarritz."

Sarries have changed half their pack following the poor showing at Bristol to tackle the French side.

Wasps, the defending Cup champions, are without Josh Lewsey, their World Cup-winning wing, for the home match with Llanelli on Sunday following his decision to get married in Canada this week. Lewsey's excitement will have been tempered by the news that Ashton had dropped him from the England squad.

Lewsey will be back for Wasps' final pool match at Munster in a week's time and this will be his first opportunity to prove he still has something to offer at the highest level.

Young Dominic Waldouck takes over on the wing against Llanelli for a match Wasps must win to keep their hopes of making the last eight alive.

Joe Worsley drops down to the bench after signalling his return from 11 weeks out injured with a try against Leeds and the Wasps back row features Lawrence Dallaglio, Tom Rees and James Haskell to highlight the club's strength in that department.

London Irish backs coach Mike Catt faces another late fitness test to discover if he can return at centre for tomorrow's home Heineken Cup match with Newport Gwent Dragons.

If the Exiles triumph and then account for Treviso, they will secure a first-ever quarter-final place.

Irish hammered Newport earlier in the season and last weekend's home win over Sale featured the kind of high octane rugby that Catt will demand throughout the match - even if his hamstring keeps him on the sidelines.

Harlequins have only pride to play for in their trip to Cardiff tonight. In the pack, injuries see Tom Guest replace Chris Robshaw while Nicolas Spanghero partners James Percival and captain Paul Volley replaces Will Skinner.