GEORGE URGES ENGLAND TO PUMP UP THE PASSION
Skipper calls for Twickenham cauldron and insists Welsh won’t have emotional edge
ENGLAND will be on a passion mission in their Six Nations homecoming against Wales tomorrow. That is what they want to generate on the pitch and in the stands at Twickenham.
They don’t want the visitors to have a monopoly on big-match emotion. Steve Borthwick’s settled side are determined to re-engage with the country’s rugby public by showing just how much this historic fixture and rivalry means to them. The Welsh are not the only ones driven by a fervent desire to claim cross- border bragging rights at the expense of their neighbours.
It’s the same every year — Wales, Scotland and Ireland are regarded as having an extra dimension of Celtic fervour to fuel their quest to lower the English colours, as a matter of national importance. But it works in reverse, too. That is the message which has come through loud and clear from new England captain Jamie George. He will lead an unchanged starting XV into their round- two fixture with a clear agenda.
‘A lot gets spoken about Wales and how much it means to them,’ said the Saracens hooker. ‘But we should never shy away from how much it means for us to play for England and what this fixture means to us.
‘Emotion is used by different people in different ways. How it motivates you can be family, it can be the history.
‘My emotion about this game could be entirely different from Joe Marler’s or Danny Care’s or Manny Feyi-Waboso’s. We’ve been trying to be as open, honest and engaging as we can to touch on all of those pieces.’
George was asked about just how much the desire to beat England is engrained in the Welsh psyche and whether his side would be able to replicate that. He replied: ‘I don’t think we want to replicate anything — we want to do things our way.
‘ We can build emotion and motivation in different ways. Something we have talked about a lot is passion and not being afraid to show passion. The emotion in a game is important. It resonates with people because it allows you to show them how much it means to you to play for England.
‘I’ve certainly been encouraging of that this week. If people want to use that passion and emotion — as long as we are controlled and clear about what we are doing rugbywise — I don’t see why we shouldn’t do that. But I don’t think we are ever going to try to do things another team’s way. We want to be authentic.’
There’s a broader issue here, which is how the Six Nations narrative, annually, is dominated by old rivalries and tensions. It is the tournament that it is because of deep and profound animosity and, in some cases, hatred. So, in this day and age of greater sensitivity, is that still OK?
‘ That’s why I love the Six Nations,’ said George. ‘I don’t think that has changed in my time, certainly. I’m a massive rugby fan — I’ve grown up watching the Six
Nations and listened to interviews where people are talking about
England playing against
Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
‘For me, that edge is certainly there. I am expecting a big edge this weekend.
We are very ready for that and very clear about how we want to take that edge away from Wales.’
Last week’s victory against Italy in Rome allowed England to break the four-year cycle of failure in championship openers, but their next priority is to improve their dire recent home record. Last summer, they were humbled by Fiji at Twickenham and in the last Six
Nations, France came to southwest London and produced a half- century demolition of the shattered hosts.
‘We’re very clear that our winrate at Twickenham hasn’t been good enough,’ said George. ‘There are reasons why that might be and we’ve looked into that. But we don’t need to worry too much about what’s happened in the past. There is a different feel to this team. There are a lot of new faces and we want to make sure that we build a different experience at Twickenham.
‘You can always reflect on the history but ultimately we’re looking at the here and now. We’ve got an opportunity to put a marker down and make a statement about who we want to be.’ Senior England players have requested changes to the matchday experience at their home stadium, and some of those will come into
effect tomorrow. One ploy is to extend the team’s walk in through the west car park — for a close-up welcome from supporters — but it cannot be altered significantly.
‘It has been extended but there are some security issues,’ said george. ‘It’s logistical, so we can’t go right back to the gate because there are boardings up. So we’d be walking past no one, which doesn’t make a huge amount of sense! We’ve done a few bits in and around the changing room, which I think will make things feel a lot more special.’
The England skipper is relishing the moment when he and his teammates walk into the ‘wall of noise’ when they emerge from the tunnel before kick-off. He wants the rookies to savour that experience and the anthems which follow.
Then Steve Borthwick’s men will set about making life as uncomfortable for the Welsh as possible.
‘If we want to create an intimidating environment at Twickenham, then first and foremost we have to be physical, confrontational and aggressive,’ said george.
With Ellis genge restored to the matchday 23 after missing the Italy match with a foot injury, that shouldn’t be a problem.