‘That could have gone either way’ – Jamie George

Saracens hooker Jamie George hailed his team-mates in their Premiership Final win over Exeter Chiefs but admitted that his opponents could easily have won the match.

George was one of his side’s heroes as he crossed for two tries in Sarries’ 37-34 win at Twickenham on Saturday and singled out some of their senior players for special praise.

“We’re a team that has so much respect for Exeter. That final was probably one of the better finals there’s been over the last few years,” he said.

“That could have gone either way. Trust me, we’re happy about it.

“I think there’s just this continuous drive to get better and never [being] happy with what we’ve done. We’re going to be pretty unhappy with the way that we’ve played but that doesn’t really matter.

“We’re driven unbelievably by Brad [Barritt] and Owen [Farrell]. We’ve got a great group of senior players.

“Maro [Itoje], Billy [Vunipola], Mako [Vunipola], Wiggy [Richard Wigglesworth]; those guys, they’re brilliant, and the coaching staff are unbelievable as well at trying to make sure that we never settle and we’re constantly striving for more.”

Man of the match Maro Itoje echoed his sentiments and also praised his side’s backroom staff for their role in the win.

“We’ve been working towards this all year and it’s a big credit to the team, credit to all the support staff, it was a massive effort,” he said.

“It’s getting harder every year and each time we’re having to dig deeper. Fair play to Exeter, they’re a top, top side and they’re by far the second-best team in the competition.

“We had no choice [after going 27-16 down]. We either had to sit back and let it happen and lose this opportunity or go out there and give it our all.

“We had some fantastic leaders in our team, guys like Owen [Farrell] and Wiggy [Richard Wigglesworth], and we managed to get the ball back.”