George wants England to be the smiling assassins
New skipper urges Borthwick’s team to enjoy experience and reconnect with fans
AS SooN as Jamie George set foot in the meeting room at England’s training base in Spain, the mood instantly felt lighter.
He took a peek at a journalist’s laptop as they made a restaurant reservation for lunch and joked: ‘Why don’t you book a round of golf while you’re at it?’
The room was immediately filled with good humour. laughter is a commodity that has been in short supply at captain’s media briefings over the last few years. Welcome to the new era.
As he took his seat, he discussed the perks of being England’s new skipper. ‘I’ve got my own room now. I wouldn’t quite call it the penthouse but it’s good. Big balcony… covers the whole of the hotel! We’ve got a little WhatsApp group and everyone was asking who is with who. I was just trying to keep quiet! Joe Marler does the rooming list so I’ve got him to thank.’
Enjoyment is a key element in George’s formula for success. Something that has not always been a priority for his predecessors. ‘Playing for England should be the most enjoyable time of your career, if not your life. Some of the best times of my life have been playing for England but they haven’t all been good.
‘This is a very new squad. I don’t want this to feel like a daunting environment to come into. I want
Chandler Cunningham-South to feel like he can be himself.
‘I want Fin Smith to feel like he can run the team at fly-half but also come into the team room and play table tennis with whoever.
‘I want people to love being a part of this group. Not just playing golf and padel tennis, but loving the proce s s of getting better as a team. loving the work, loving the graft, loving the challenge that Test match rugby provides. It might seem like small things but I think they are all very much interlinked.’
Before George flew to Girona last week, he received a phone call from owen Farrell, who stepped down as captain because of the impact on his state of mind. ‘ He was so supportive, the message was overriding: if there’s anything that I need, then please pick up the phone. I’d be stupid not to.
‘If you look at owen, reflecting back on the last few months, I’m disappointed as a mate that I wasn’t able to be there more for him to get him out of the situation he was in. I think it’s important for us to be able to identify that. I care about people.
‘I’m not sat here as captain saying, “This is my team now”. We all have a responsibility. We won’t just talk about game plans and rugby, we’ll talk about environment and people and if anyone’s not quite fitting in the way we would want them to.’ George wants the goodwill to extend beyond the team, to the English rugby public. Booing at the World Cup in France did not go unnoticed.
He is aware that England’s kick-heavy style of play has created apathy among supporters, and the players have raised that with Steve Borthwick and his coaching team.
‘one of the reasons it was so easy for me to accept the captaincy was because the relationship I have with Steve makes things so easy,’ said George. ‘We played together in 2009. I’ve known him for such a long time. He’s seen me grow, develop, mature.
‘I also think we see the game in a very similar way. We’re not exactly the same characters but at the same time we have a huge amount of respect for each other, which means we can have really open and honest conversations. ‘The style of play probably had an impact on why there was booing so that is definitely something in conversation. Ultimately this team will base its game plan on winning games. That has to be at the forefront, but at the same time conversations are certainly being had around how we get people off their seats.
‘People want to see tries. The conversations that we’re having with ( attack coach) Richard Wigglesworth at the minute are around our attack, how excited we can get around our attack. Work is going to be encouraged within the
team and we are going to get back and be in a position to go, but we are also going to make the right decision at the right time.’
As a rugby purist, George gets his kicks from set-piece domination and vicious line- speed in defence. Smiling assassins. But he also wants to improve the all-round experience, to help kick-start England’s new era after the World Cup.
‘Our record at Twickenham, hasn’t been good enough over the last few years but this is a new team. We are having ongoing discussions about how we can engage with fans more. Little things, like potentially lengthening the walk into the stadium. Danny Care wants a kiss-cam.
‘ If we’re completely honest, English rugby hasn’t been in the best place with teams going bust in the Premiership and grassroots numbers falling. We are aware that, at the top of the game, we have an opportunity to reach as many people across England as we can — and change perceptions.’