Owen Farrell enjoys half-flight for England – Jeremy Guscott

Owen Farrell has never been out of the game.

He is a kicker, a co-captain, a half-ball, but it's mostly his personality that makes sure that he always seems to be at the center of the game's highlight moments.

He likes to take responsibility and initiative to change the game. Whatever he does, it is imperative to watch.

A lot of the time, it brings you to applause. To others, you look through your fingers.

His tackle against Andre Esterhuizen in the final of England's 12-11 win over South Africa proved that he could split the opinion on the same incident.

For me, it was more like a penalty than another. I do not think most people would have been surprised if referee Angus Gardner had punished Farrell for this, rather than deciding that it was not an offense.

It was instinctive rather than malicious, however.

Esterhuizen started in a race of crossed arches, ahead of George Ford, then Mark Wilson, looking for space in a hilly field.

As Farrell followed the path of his target, the obvious option would be to go down with his left shoulder and take advantage of Esterhuizen's momentum to crush him to the knees when the Springbok replacement crosses him.

However, as he begins to be squeezed by the sideline, Esterhuizen changes slightly angle, straightening up at Farrell's touch on the 15-yard line.

This completely changed the tackle.

Suddenly, Farrell chooses to dig his heel, throw his right shoulder into the collision and try to win it.

This is the type of decision that is taken in an instant.

As soon as you go over the waist, you are in a dangerous zone. The shoulder can go up or the player can dive into contact and anyway, you bring the possibility of a high tackle.

Farrell was more concerned about whether his arms were involved in the tackle or whether it was a right and illegal use of the shoulder.

One could see that there had been a left-arm attempt, but at a rapid pace and given the uncomfortable position in which Farrell was lying, it was hard to pretend that he was wrapping his man up.

It appeared that there was not enough room for the fate of the match to remain in the hands of England.

Gardner could have easily inflicted a penalty on the video critic and Handre Pollard could have sent him the shot to win the match.

But Eddie Jones will not ask Owen Farrell to change that part of his game.

You can not help as you are and you should not either – that's why you were chosen in the first place. This physicality is something extra that Farrell brings to this position. Neither Ford nor Danny Cipriani, the two rivals for his position, can compete.

10 decisive

This controversial tackle was the final act of a very influential 10-minute finale of Farrell.

After 72 minutes, he showed constant nervousness and technique to clinch what was the winning match penalty from the fingertips.

Then, in the 79th minute, as the Boks put pressure on the England line, he pulled the ball back to Lood De Jager, who was in second place, managed to make a crucial turn.

Just like the success of Esterhuizen, he was aggressive and extremely competitive. He went high chest, trying to change the course of the match.

Anyone meeting Owen Farrell must be aware that he will attempt more than one tackle. De Jager did not do his due diligence and went too far, without properly protecting the ball, and paid the price.

We should not be surprised anymore. We should almost expect these decisive contributions from him.

He has proven himself in the crucible of Lions tests, Six Nations tournaments, and Champions Cup and Premiership finals. He clearly likes to lead in crucial moments.

What he has developed in his game since his debut in testing six years ago is the calm and vision that helped him make the break in the 55th minute.

The ball came out a little when he received the ball in the middle of the field, facing a well-prepared South African defense.

However, Handre Pollard, the opposite number of Farrell, guessed it, rushing to intercept a possible pbad for Henry Slade.

Farrell pretends to give Henry Slade a flat pbad, but spotting the South African defense's dogleg out of his peripheral vision, clings to the ball.

His manikin and dart took him inside Damian de Allende and across the gap between RG Snyman, center and second.

Farrell could have stayed longer on the ball to make more of an overlap. He was out in the open air, but had chosen to dump himself on Slade, perhaps because of Snyman's tapping, which made him think of a hidden tackle.

It was only Farrell's third World Cup start since the 2015 World Cup, although he is 26th overall with 62 caps for England.

This ongoing threat was not something that he had had in his previous roles in the role.

But, as shown by Cipriani and, to a lesser extent, Ford, this helps to prevent an opposing defense from being carried away by its outside riders.

I think Farrell will still have a lot of starts at 10 for England before and during Japan 2019.

Jeremy Guscott is entrusted to Mike Henson of BBC Sport.