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George's 'mentor' Brits gives his take on the new England captain
Before there was Jamie George at Saracens, there was Schalk Brits. Much in the same way the new England captain had to bide his time behind former England captain Dylan Hartley on the Test stage, so too did he have to deputise for the former South Africa hooker.
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The 33-year-old’s patience paid off though, as he went on to claim the No2 jersey in both white and black and is set to captain England this Guinness Six Nations, taking over from his Saracens teammate Owen Farrell.
After years of playing alongside George at Saracens and seeing him develop from an academy player to a British and Irish Lion, few players will know him better than Brits.
As a guest of RugbyPass TV’s Boks Office recently, the 2019 World Cup winner, jokingly described as George’s mentor, gave his thoughts on the new captain.
“I think Jamie is the best man for the job,” he told Hanyani Shimange and Jean de Villiers.
“His EQ, his emotional intelligence, how he runs, how he plays, he’s one of the players who, if fit, would play every weekend and most of the minutes as well. From that perspective, I think he’s an excellent choice to be captain.
“I think he’s learned a lot under Owen, he’s got a great relationship with Steve [Borthwick], and I think he’s going to do wonders for England. And he can manage the refs extremely well.”
Brits was just as effusive in his praise for George’s off-field demeanour as he is for his on-field presence.
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“He’s amazing [off the field], world class,” he added.
George’s former England and Saracens teammate Brad Barritt was also a guest on the show, and joined Brits in praising George’s off-field personality.
“Especially at this starting point of the Six Nations, a refreshed England, a lot of new players, I think he’s someone who has great relationships with young, old, experienced and inexperienced and he resonates across a broad sector of personality types,” the former centre said.
“I think he’s going to be an amazing captain. He’s served his apprenticeship under Owen for a long period of time. People always try and compare people- the reality with captaincy is there’s no right or wrong. A certain person has a style and can be successful and Jamie has a very different style which can also be successful.”
Brits and Barritt were also pressed to divulge some information about the new England captain that he would not want the public to know. Neither revealed too much, but Barritt did add: “Jamie is a very well-rounded person. Diligent, he works hard, but equally so, he knows how to enjoy himself.
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“Maybe the one he won’t be happy with is there are a few pictures of him without a shirt back in the early days”
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
22 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
22 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
44 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
4 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
44 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
44 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
4 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
7 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
2 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
7 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
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