Jamie George identifies the ‘fix’ England need to quickly make, singles out one ‘outstanding’ player in the loss to France
Jamie George looks on with England on Saturday
England co-captain Jamie George has described himself as “really proud” despite defeat in Saturday’s uncapped friendly with France in London.
Steve Borthwick’s XV was sucker-punched coming down the finishing straight even though the French had been reduced to 14 players following Cameron Woki’s red carded headshot on George at a ruck.
The Saracens hooker, who only joined up with Borthwick’s squad in midweek following a stint providing training cover with the British and Irish Lions in Portugal and Dublin, put in a massive 68-minute shift in stiflingly humid conditions.
That effort helped to ensure England bounced back from an early 0-12 deficit to comfortably lead 24-12 with the clock against the French.
However, George’s exit was followed by an indisciplined, error-strewn finish to the game which left his side beaten 24-26 following the concession of converted 75th and 83rd minute tries.
“The bare minimum of what this team should be about…”
It will leave England feeling frustrated when they fly out on Tuesday for their tour of the Americas which begins with a two-Test series versus Argentina followed by a one-off encounter against the USA.
George, though, highlighted a fix that can quickly aid England on a trip that starts with a July 5 clash with Los Pumas in Buenos Aires. “I just said to the team I was really proud of a lot of what we did,” he claimed in the aftermath of Saturday’s loss.
“What it showed is we have got a lot of potential. It showed the difference when we are right on it and when we are not. We allowed France back into the game and we have got a lot to fix up with our maul.”
He added he was pleased with the level of fight shown by England after they fell into early arrears and he singled out one of the senior squad newcomers for special praise. “That (heart) is the bare minimum of what this team should be about, character, fight, spirit, all that kind of thing so really, really pleased with that.
“I was really pleased with some of the big performances, some of the younger players stepping up. Guy Pepper was outstanding. Really exciting that those guys are now going to kick on and hopefully have a big impact in Argentina too.
“We are in a good place,” he insisted. “We wanted to win – we always want to win whenever we have got an English shirt on. We’re disappointed with that, but it was a good start (to the summer).
“We haven’t been together a huge amount of time. I only came in on Wednesday, so we have got a lot of growth. We saw how good Argentina were on Friday night (when beating the British and Irish Lions), but there is a lot to be excited about.”
