Kruis: England’s pack firing again
IT’S STILL early days for the Eddie Jones regime, but after two games and two wins, George Kruis believes the England pack is on the way to regaining a fearsome reputation.
The 25-year-old Saracens lock has been a central figure in this resurgence during RBS 6 Nations victories over Scotland and Italy which were founded on forward power.
At Murrayfield and in Rome, an English onslaught up front proved decisive, with the backs allowed to cut loose in the closing stages of the latter fixture.
Jones set his stall out to re-establish the national heritage of a strong set-piece and a pack that is feared by other nations. Kruis senses they are progressing towards that. ‘I hon-honestly think we’re getting some-omewhere,’ he said.
‘You can have a bad weekk in the set-piece or as a tight five, but we’ve got a hard-working bunch of lads paired with some hard-working coaches.
‘We talked about wanting to be a brutal English pack and going back to thee old days of teams fearingg our pack. I think we’re head-ading in the right direction.’
Kruis’s area of primary influencenfluence is the lineout. He makes the calls and it was all but flawless in Edinburgh, only for four throws to go astray against Italy.
Those lapses will have prompted analysis by the England forwards coach, renowned lineout guru and ex-Saracens captain Steve Borthwick.
Asked about his former team-mate, Kruis said: ‘A lost lineout pains him as much as it pains any of the lineout callers or any of the forwards. I’d liken it to a kicker missing a kick.’
So has Kruis found it strange being coached by someone he was packing down alongside until recently?
‘At Saracens he was always — I wouldn’t say distant, but almost like a player-coach in the way he held himself,’ added Kruis. ‘ He’s definitely a coach here and that is the relationship.’
The first two rounds of this championship have gone exceptionally well for Kruis, who has emerged as England’s leading lock. ‘In your first one or two caps it is hard to relax into the jersey, but I am enjoying it now,’ he said.