England rugby captain Owen Farrell nearly joined MAN UTD as a goalkeeper at 13

Owen Farrell will lead England in Saturday's Rugby World Cup final against South Africa but his sporting career could have taken a completely different trajectory.

The centre is known to be a safe pair of hands in England's back row, and his skills with the hands were noticed by Manchester United when the England captain was a youngster.

Farrell is believed to have had a spell training with United in 2005 when he was 13 years old and was highly rated by academy staff for his ability between the sticks.

The rugby star is said to have impressed academy chiefs to such an extent that the club were keen to keep him on the books.

'You could just tell from within a few minutes of meeting him that he carried himself really well,' first team goalkeeping coach Richard Harris told The Telegraph.

'You can always tell when you meet a top-class sportsman, they have that air about them and he did.'

The experienced backroom coach went on to share his views on Farrell with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, and it is believed that the club tried to organise a meeting between the legendary manager and Farrell's parents.

However, Farrell opted to stick to his bread and butter with rugby and later joined the Saracens ranks in 2008 when his father Andy switched codes from league to union.

Had the England captain followed a different pathway, he would have come through the United academy with the likes of Danny Drinkwater and Danny Welbeck.

As it is, though, the 28-year-old is on the cusp of World Cup glory should his side get past South Africa in Saturday's World Cup final.