George double earns top spot for Sarries
JAMIE GEORGE touched down twice in the space of five minutes at Allianz Park yesterday to become the country’s leading try-scorer and quell Wasps’ resistance. When Jimmy Gopperth struck a penalty for the visitors in the 67th minute, they were trailing by just two points and in the hunt for a sixth victory in as many matches, to remain top of the Aviva Premiership table. Instead, Saracens raised themselves for a furious late onslaught and George capitalised, crossing the line twice after coming on as a replacement to take his try tally to five in the first six games of this campaign. Eddie Jones was in attendance and he will have been heartened by what he saw; not so much the tries, because he has other priorities for his hookers, but by George’s allround contribution. He is a forceful scrummager and that will be in his favour if England need a replacement for their injured captain. Dylan Hartley has a bad back and the 25-year-old Saracen has enhanced his status as next in line for the No 2 shirt. There was more for Jones to savour — not to mention the home side’s director of rugby, Mark McCall — as Saracens again showed they possess a similar streak to another renowned team who wear black, in the way they can crank up the intensity. Their England contingent were prominent. George did the scoring, but Billy Vunipola was man of the match for his rampaging efforts. Once again, Maro Itoje was a colossus; delivering his usual repertoire of carries, tackles, ruck clear-outs, and steals at the breakdown and in the lineout. A dash of Danny Cipriani brilliance helped Wasps draw level at 8-8 in the first half as he conjured a try for Josh Bassett, but they fell short of recent standards under intense pressure from the fabled ‘Wolf Pack’.