Jamie in kick back at critics
JAMIE GEORGE has revealed Marcus Smith was under team orders to kick the ball dead and accept the draw with New Zealand.
England’s fly-half came in for heavy criticism from senior figures in the sport for not going for the win with the final play of last Saturday’s clash, in which Eddie Jones’ side brilliantly fought back to draw 25-25.
But George, asked if the decision to kick it out had been made before New Zealand restarted following Smith’s game-tying conversion, said: “We were clear we wanted to kick it off, yeah.
“I know there is a lot of criticism. On the field at the time, from where we had come back from, was incredible.
“The risk was probably too high at that point so I think it was the right call. It is a decision that everyone backed at the time.”
World champions South Africa visit Twickenham on Saturday, and George added: “We maybe needed to show a bit more courage from the start against New Zealand and we can’t be like that again against South Africa.”
George, a substitute against the All Blacks, is in contention for a recall to the starting line-up on Saturday despite still recovering from a broken foot.