Mark McCall: Why Jamie George needs to tour this summer

Mark McCall believes Jamie George should be involved in Argentina this summer with England to ready himself for a possible Lions call-up.

At 34, George is at the stage of rugby life where he might be considered a candidate for some off-season rest, but, after missing out on the original Lions selection, Saracens’ director of rugby thinks that would be a mistake.

The last four Lions tours have seen an additional hooker brought in as injury cover or, in the case of Rory Best for Dylan Hartley in 2013, suspension, and with that in mind McCall says George needs to keep himself in the groove and that he has plenty of petrol left in the tank.

“I think he was close. If he is, or was, next in line, then he needs to be playing rugby in the summer if he’s going to get called in so I would be very surprised if he wasn’t in Argentina,” said McCall.

“That’s not me saying that he will, but that’s what I imagine would happen.

“He’s good, physically. It’s not like he plays 80 minutes all the time, even though he could. He shares the load with Theo Dan every week.

“With England, he came off the bench, so his involvements are decent, but his match minutes are at really good levels.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

4

Draws

0

Wins

1

Average Points scored

32

29

First try wins

100%

Home team wins

100%

George, who was Test hooker with the Lions in 2017 and toured again to South Africa in 2021, was unfortunate to miss out when Andy Farrell named his tour squad for Australia last week. The Leinster duo of Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher were preferred along with England teammate Luke Cowan-Dickie.

While he has slipped down the England pecking order, his impact off the bench has been eye-catching and there remains no better lineout thrower.

George was relieved of the England captaincy last autumn when Maro Itoje stepped up and would be an obvious candidate to step back into the role in Argentina in his clubmate’s absence.

McCall confirmed that the intention is for Itoje to be involved domestically for Saracens in every game that remains of their season, starting with Saturday’s trip to Northampton.

“He’s definitely going to play this weekend,” said the Irishman.

McCall believes the Lions captaincy is a fitting reward for everything Itoje has put into rugby.

“Maro’s been here since he was a teenager, and to watch him develop into the person he is, the player he is, the leader he is, has been a bit of a privilege to be honest,” he said.

“Every step along the way, he’s been able to react and respond to get up to the next rung on the ladder. He’s worked really hard in this game.

“He’s not one of these players who it all came easily to. He had to work damn hard to get where he’s got to. He’s one of those players who has squeezed every bit out of himself. Some players don’t have to do that, but Maro has been prepared to do that. He’s got his just reward and we’re all super proud.”