The French are still up for the cup

George rejects‘ farce’

ENGLAND hooker Jamie George says today’s final against France is not the ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’.

The Autumn Nations Cup conclusion was branded a ‘farce’ after France were forced to release star players to their clubs.

It could result in a mismatch in front of 2,000 fans at Twickenham, but George believes the players are desperate to end the campaign on a high.

‘No one in this environment is calling it the Mickey Mouse Cup and that’s all that matters,’ said George.

‘The end goal of this campaign was to be in the position to win this trophy. It’s great exposure and experience for us to play in a final.

‘I’ve been lucky enough to win a few at Saracens. The more experience of finals rugby you have, the better you get at them. This time last year, we played in a big final that didn’t go our way, hopefully it can be different this time around.’

England yesterday made a late change to their line-up, with prop Ellis Genge replacing Mako Vunipola. ‘Mako has been struggling throughout the week and has barely trained,’ said George.

‘His Achilles is pretty sore. It’s a big loss missing a player of Mako’s calibre, but what an exciting prospect having Ellis step in.

‘We won’t lose much in terms of energy. Ellis deserves his chance as he has really stepped up.’

Coach Eddie Jones, meanwhile, has given his blessing for his assistant coaches to join Warren Gatland’s Lions squad next summer.

Gatland is yet to finalise his coaching line-up, although he has sounded out the RFU about availability for the tour of South Africa. Scrum coach Matt Proudfoot and defence coach John Mitchell are both contenders and Jones said: ‘There has been contact. We are open to any opportunity for our staff and coaches to grow.

‘We saw the benefits of it with Steve Borthwick going on the Lions tour in 2017 and coming back having added more to his coaching repertoire. We would certainly be open to those ideas.’

Meanwhile, Amazon Prime have expressed an in interest in English Premiership rugby rights after their broadcasting debut in the Autumn Nations Cup.

The tender process for English club rugby is already underway, with BT Sport’s multi-million-pound deal up for renewal next summer.

Investors CVC are hoping to secure a bumper deal — and Amazon could explore the option of a full or partial-rights package.

Former UKTV CEO Darren Childs is leading the negotiations, which will come to a conclusion over the coming months.

London Irish owner Mick Crossan told The Mail on Sunday: ‘There have been two or three hats thrown into the ring and Amazon has been one of them.

‘I think the product of Premiership Rugby is the best league in the world. It’s what people want to see, because any club can beat any club.’