My old rival George is a certain Lions starter
► Hat-trick hero is now the first choice for Lions tour while Jones seeks right mix in talented England pack
People are talking more about Jamie George because he scored a hat-trick against Georgia, but building a pack in rugby union needs a Moneyball approach. It has to be about balance.
Joe Launchbury and Charlie Ewels were excellent as part of those line-out drives. Will Stuart and Ellis Genge, famed for his charging runs, ensured the scrum went well. Jamie was the man who benefited because, on a day for basics, England did them very well. If it had been a debutant such as Jack Willis who scored three tries, I would be worrying about people pumping up his tyres too much.
In the 2014 Premiership final between Northampton and Saracens, Schalk Brits played all 100 minutes at hooker. Jamie came on in the back row for Billy Vunipola with five minutes left of extra time.
It was funny for me looking around at England training the other day and realising he was the oldest forward there. That said, he has done his apprenticeship 10 times over. As well as going to two World Cups, he has toured with the British and Irish Lions. I never did that. He has been in and around winning teams for a long time and has a good – well, huge – head on his shoulders.
Now that I have retired I can say that I was an England regular for a decade. You always hear about this next guy, the one who is going to challenge for your spot. And guess what? Not many do.
I had competition from Rob Webber, Tommy Taylor, Tom Youngs and many others. Jamie did not become an out-and-out candidate until Eddie Jones took over. He was the emerging talent, having taken my spot for the 2015 World Cup, ironically, after I supposedly butted him during a try celebration in the Premiership semi-final. Over the past four years, Jamie has shot to prominence. Initially, with England, it was the age-old narrative – he had been doing great things in club rugby and people were becoming bored with me. Jamie was a new, shiny, exciting thing.
I believe his “internship” stands as testament to how Jones uses all 23 players in a squad. I had a clear role and expectations as a starter. He told Jamie to add certain things when he came on. Jamie did end up being better, because his all-round game is bang-on now. At that time, it was straightforward – I did my job, then Jamie replaced me and added energy.
Dan Cole versus Kyle Sinckler, another explosive player, was a similar argument. With Danny Care and other guys, they came on against fatigued opponents and changed games for us.
Sometimes, when a young player is coming through, you remember the eye-catching moments because less is expected of them. Other times it is about specific game play. When you watch Super Rugby, you might see New Zealand hookers such as Dane Coles or Asafo Aumua making these amazing breaks. But those teams will have split their forwards in a 1-3-3-1 formation across the field with two pods of three in the middle. It will usually be a back-rower and a hooker in those wide channels. Chris Boyd brought that from the Hurricanes, where Coles and Aumua still play, to Northampton. I knew that I would be in one of the pods in the middle, rucking and supporting. On the other hand, Mikey Haywood’s eyes lit up because he would head to the wing.
While those pods of three are working in the middle, the players standing out on the wing conserve energy. When the ball comes to them, their batteries are full.
England ran a set move against Georgia last Saturday and Jamie held his width. It is all about being smart and playing to a player’s strengths. In 2016 and 2017, Jamie was hyped up, but we had won 18 games in a row. Privately, Eddie would be telling me: “You’re doing a good job. Keep making tackles, keep hitting rucks, make sure your set-piece is still the best in the world.” At the time, there might have been lingering question marks over Jamie’s experience and, as far as timing, Eddie was probably not ready to hand the captaincy from me to Owen Farrell.
Jamie has undoubtedly earned his spot and what is interesting to me is that I do not see him doing so much of what he did in 2016 and 2017 any more. At 30 years old with 50 caps, he has reached a good blend. There is a balance between his set-piece excellence and some nice little touches.
I would say he is the first hooker Warren Gatland will pick for the Lions tour next year and there is nobody really challenging him.
Luke Cowan-dickie is now England’s all-action hooker, Tom Dunn the blue-collar grafter.
I hope he takes this as a compliment, but I would say he is closer to the kind of player I was. That is where Eddie is smart. On the road to 2023, he will use the depth at his disposal.
At 30 years old with 50 caps, he balances set-piece excellence with some nice little touches