The ‘genuinely freakish’ talent England greats claim is a ‘cheat code’
Saracens' rising star Noah Caluori and former England captain Jamie George.
England stars past and present believe rising star Noah Caluori has the talent to play a massive role for club and country over the next few years.
The wing is still just a teenager, but he has already made a huge impression for Saracens in PREM Rugby, which included five tries against Sale Sharks in October.
Caluori will look to take that promise into Europe with the Investec Champions Cup set to begin this weekend.
Team-mates at Saracens
Jamie George knows him well, having played alongside him for Sarries, and the former England captain raved about the youngster’s natural talent on the For The Love Of Rugby Investec Champions Cup preview podcast.
“He is freakish, he genuinely is freakish,” George said, before he joked about Caluori’s social media activity.
“It’s funny isn’t it, this generational thing and me as an old bloke now in the team. He’s got millions of followers on TikTok and I’m immediately going, ‘that’s a red flag’, but he’s actually a really nice kid.”
Caluori has already had a taste of just what it takes to play at the highest level, having been involved in the England camp for the November Tests.
The wing did not play a game, but many have tipped him for a Test debut sooner rather than later. However, George has warned fans about getting too carried away.
That will be difficult should Caluori continue to impress, though, particularly with the Investec Champions Cup on the horizon.
The biggest club tournament in Europe and South Africa is set to start with Sarries taking on ASM Clermont Auvergne and the Hollywoodbets Sharks in the opening two rounds.
“He’s got his head down and he’s learning. He is by no means the final product, he has got a lot to learn. He’s raw but, athletically, I’ve genuinely not seen many better than him,” George said.
“I got asked to do a presentation before an U18s game he was playing in and he literally did exactly what he did against Sale in that game and completely dominated, I’d never seen anything like it.
“We kicked a restart and he just ran through, caught the ball, stepped the full-back and scored. It’s a cheat code.
“Where I’m a little bit wary is there’s a lot of talk about him, a lot of hype about him, and rightly so because he’s stepped up and is a confident kid who’s done brilliant things in the Premiership, but he isn’t the finished product.
“He’s still got a lot to learn and people should be aware of that.”
Former England wing’s view
Fellow England great Anthony Watson, who earned 56 caps, agrees with George about Caluori’s potential.
“I think he’s got all the tools to be a world-class international rugby player. What separates you from being able to do it and having the skills to do it is probably all mental,” Watson said.
“Raw talent, it’s undisputed, 100 per cent he can do it.
“Even just for a winger working with a 10, it doesn’t get much better than having Owen (Farrell) there day in day out.
“What you want from your winger is to be able to put yourself in the right spots at the right time, or give you the option at least to go to him.
“Having Owen around you and having someone who knows the game inside out will just push him in the right direction to learn about the game and develop in the areas other people may neglect.”
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