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The two 'new' England leaders singled out by skipper Jamie George
By Liam Heagney
New England skipper Jamie George has paid tribute to those who have helped lighten the responsibility he has taken on for the Guinness Six Nations.
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The hooker was appointed by Steve Borthwick after Rugby World Cup captain Owen Farrell opted to take a Test rugby sabbatical while Courtney Lawes, who led the team to pool victories over Argentina and Japan last September, has retired from international rugby.
That unavailability resulted in the 33-year-old George being asked by Steve Borthwick to take on the job and his maiden outing as skipper eventually produced a comeback 27-24 victory over Italy in Rome last Saturday.
England have now named an unchanged starting line-up to take on Wales this Saturday at Twickenham and ahead of that round two encounter, George gave thanks to some fellow senior players – Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje and George Ford – for helping to make his transition to captain as seamless as possible.
He also singled out two other players – Sam Underhill and Henry Slade – for demonstrating leadership skills that weren’t previously evident.
“I learned a lot,” reckoned George, reflecting on Thursday on a round-one fixture where England trailed 0-10 and 8-17 at the Stadio Olimpico before successfully mounting a comeback.
“Probably the thing I need to make sure is I keep doing is using the guys around. I’m so lucky and blessed to have the likes of Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje, George Ford running the team, guys are really trying to put their hands up.
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“And outside of that, I have been really impressed with some of the other guys who maybe haven’t been as vocal previously. Sam Underhill, in particular, Henry Slade have really stepped up into leadership positions and I’d be stupid not to keep picking their brains and using them, especially on the field.
“It was something I will never forget, it was incredible really. Very emotional,” he added about the honour of being a first-time England captain. “I was probably expecting it to be that way but it was great.
“On the field, I was very lucky to have some really experienced guys around me. We had a few thunderbolts (from Italy) – like Steve said, it wasn’t perfect by any means last weekend.
“The thing that pleased me the most was how engaged the rest of the squad was, even the younger players and the first caps. Huddles post-conceding a try, post-penalty, how engaged people were. It made my life very easy.”
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George himself contributed to that ease, making the point of seeking out the match day 23’s five new caps for a pep talk to ensure they would be ready.
“First and foremost I was pretty open in terms of the sort of environment we wanted to create was one that wasn’t overly daunting. We wanted people to come in and feel like themselves, that they were there for a reason for the performances they had over the previous seasons.
“That really impressed me, how those guys came in and embraced that. I had a quiet word with everyone that was starting for the first time. My message to them was to try and embrace and soak in the atmosphere pre-game because it goes like that [in a blink] and I found that myself at the weekend.
“But you could see in terms of how much it meant to those guys, how much emotion it brought to them and how happy they were after the game; that for me was everything playing for England should be about.”
Having won an opening fixture in the Six Nations for the first time since 2019, England have reacted by naming an unchanged starting line-up for the first time since the 2019 World Cup final. Their only tweak is to their bench where Genge, who was a late cry-off in Rome, has been reinstated as the loosehead back-up to Joe Marler.
Excitement within the squad about hosting Wales is now apparently at fever pitch, George reporting that no sooner did England arrive back at Pennyhill from Rome last weekend did the atmosphere ramp up in anticipation of the fixture versus Warren Gatland’s side.
“You just know when it’s England-Wales. We turned up to Pennyhill, we got back here as soon as the game finished Saturday, and there was a very different feel. There is a huge amount of excitement.
“I don’t need to talk to you about the history of the game, it means a lot to people in this squad, it means a lot to rugby fans in England and we are very excited to be back at Twickenham playing Wales. It’s a very, very exciting week.”
