Business helping Kruis on and off the pitch
Entrepreneurial spirit has helped take the England lock up a level, he tells Charlie Morgan ‘You can talk about something other than rugby. After 10 or 12 years, that’s refreshing’
Without wishing to disparage either party, it is not easy to imagine Dan Bilzerian and George Kruis in the same room. One is an unashamedly ostentatious, poker-playing international playboy who supplies photos of scantily-clad women to his 28million Instagram followers.
The other, a more understated character, hit close to 140 rucks during the 2019 Six Nations – roughly one in every three that England accumulated while in possession over the tournament – and is poised for an influential role at the World Cup in Japan.
Both men did attend this summer’s Europe CBD Expo in London, an annual event that aims to forge connections between those working in the cannabis industry. Kruis was networking on behalf of the business he founded with former team-mate Dominic Day, fourfivecbd, which sells painkilling products manufactured from CBD (cannabidiol). Bilzerian, having recently launched his own range, passed through on a promotional tour.
The pair did not meet properly. A curious Kruis merely caught sight of Bilzerian briefly. Regardless, the Saracens lock believes entrepreneurial pursuits provide a healthy balance to his life that has helped performance.
“I thought it was quite cliched before,” he ponders. “But the more I think about it, the more [business commitments] have helped me off the field and on it as well. Especially when you are injured.
“Quite a big thing I’ve found is that you can talk about something other than rugby. After 10 or 12 years, that’s refreshing.”
Kruis does not turn 30 until February, but it is a decade since his first-team debut for Saracens and he is a seasoned professional with silverware – and scars – to
prove as much. During an epic European Champions Cup final victory over Leinster in May, he rolled his right ankle.
Despite battling to the end of the season, helping Saracens thump Gloucester in the Premiership semi-final and then edge out Exeter at Twickenham, Kruis opted to undergo surgery in June. The operation inserted “a couple of fake ligaments” to stabilise the joint, something he explains matter of factly. Kruis does not seem squeamish.
That was the third time he had gone under the knife to repair ankle damage, the previous occasion ruling him out of last year’s tour to South Africa and capping a disappointing season following on from the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. Feeling far sharper for the 2018-19 campaign, he excelled.
“I felt like I was playing some of my better rugby,” says Kruis ahead of Friday’s Quilter International against Italy in Newcastle. “I’d be kidding myself if I said that I was at the same level the year before.”
When it comes to discussing his own form, Kruis does not get much more animated than that.
Two things about the most recent Six Nations sum up what he brings to the England set-up. The first is a statistic. According to Opta, Kruis made effective contributions at 136 attacking rucks over five matches – including 31 clear-outs in the 51 minutes before he was replaced in Dublin. No other player came within 10.
“I know my role within the team,” he adds. “I’m not going to be making line-breaks, I’m not going to be scoring tries. I’ve fully accepted that. Someone like Billy Vunipola might ask you how many rucks you’ve hit knowing full well that he has done all the carrying and the exciting stuff.
“I embrace it. Focusing on making the most of every impact is something I’ve tried to do.”
The second Six Nations snapshot comes from the final minute of a 57-14 win over Italy. Kruis had already scored his second Test try after charging down Jayden Hayward on the hour mark.
Around 20 minutes later, still harrying the Azurri on their own try-line, he blocked a box-kick from scrum-half Tito Tebaldi. The ball looped to Brad Shields, who touched down. Clenching both fists, Kruis celebrated wildly.
“I was probably happy because you might do 100 of those and one will come off. It’s more of a long game. But then I understand that of those 100, even if you don’t get [the charge-down], a lot of them will have an effect on how the kick is kicked.
“Then your back three might be in a better position to run it back – there’s a reason [you do it]. As I say, I know my role.”
Saracens wanted to be admired for their mental and physical toughness last season. “There has to be a realisation that the game is not lost until it actually is,” says Kruis, remembering one simple but uncompromising message. He and his club colleagues in the national set-up – Jamie George, Billy and Mako Vunipola, Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell – backed that up by coming from behind in two deciders in club colours.
It will need a similar blend of resolve and composure for England to achieve what they want to at Rugby World Cup 2019. Determined, dependable and diligent, Kruis can set the standard.
Quilter is a principal partner of England Rugby. Find out more at quilter.com