GEORGE & THE DRAGON
Jamie following in famous footsteps as he vows to breathe fire in faces of mighty All Blacks
JAMIE GEORGE celebrated joining one of the most select clubs in all of sport by throwing down the gauntlet to the All Blacks.
Not since Jason Robinson 16 years ago has a player been picked to start a Test for the Lions before doing so for his country.
That will change at Eden Park tomorrow when the Saracens hooker pulls on the No.2 jersey and runs out to face the world champions on a pitch where they last lost 23 years ago.
Lacking in belief he is not. “Do we all believe we can win? 100 per cent,” he said without a flicker of emotion. “Everyone in the squad is very confident we can succeed.
“I think the performances we’ve put in show we’re progressing towards being the No.1 team in the world.
“In order to beat the All Blacks that’s what you’ve got to be.”
Perhaps it is because he has had to wait so long that he has locked on to this opportunity like a heat-seeking missile. George holds the world record for most caps won for his country without a start, having come off the bench 17 times for England since 2015 without displacing first Tom Youngs, then Red Rose captain Dylan Hartley.
All the more reason to expect a tinge of anxiety from the 26-year-old ahead of his golden chance in what is the biggest rugby match played anywhere since the 2015 World Cup final. There is none. Rather as Robinson (left) did before marking his full international debut for the 2001 Lions with a stunning solo try inside three minutes, George feels this is his time.
“As soon as I made the plane I thought to myself, ‘I’ve got every chance’,” he said. “I definitely didn’t see myself as an understudy.
“I’d be hoping to put in a good enough performance to show I’m able to do stuff from the start but, look, the stuff that Dylan’s doing is fantastic as well. He’s just come off the back of a 2-0 England series in Argentina.” The Lions sense an opportunity at line-out time, where they have excelled on this tour. George is central to that.
Again he is relaxed about it. Not least because his primary target is Saracens club mate George Kruis.
“I’ve been throwing to him since we were both 18 on the third-team pitch at the University of Hertfordshire,” he said.
When the 50,000 sell-out crowd clears its throat and the pressure really comes on George will calmly imagine he is in his bedroom at home.
“The mental side of throwing is very big and you have to try to take yourself out of the occasion,” he explained.
“I like to put myself in my bedroom and let nothing else come into that bubble.
“It’s a place where I’m comfortable. Golfers call it their happy place. Throwing is a closed skill and it’s not just physical.
“You have to try to block off everything that’s going on in your mind.”
Once he has taken a couple of deep breaths, lowered his heart rate and settled his nerves he will release the ball.
And with that the Lions will hope for lift-off.