'My message to Maro' - Jamie George publicly issues advice to England teammate Itoje
Jamie George has urged Maro Itoje to continue playing on the edge as England look to rescue their Guinness Six Nations campaign.
Itoje has been Eddie Jones’ standout performer during the opening three rounds but his indiscipline has proved costly, conceding a total of 10 penalties with five of them occurring in the 40-24 defeat by Wales that ended the champions’ title defence.
Jones has stated that Itoje is firmly in the cross-hairs of referees and George insists that with some adjustments, his Saracens team-mate will continue to be a destructive force for the final two fixtures against France and Ireland.
“Maro’s one of the most confrontational players I have ever played with – it’s his game and it’s what makes him one of the best players in the world,” George said.
“Maro is the sort of bloke who is clever enough to know what a borderline penalty is and what he can and can’t do. I’ve got no doubt that he’s going to learn his lessons.
“On a different day, those borderline penalties might not have been given and Maro might have got man of the match and we’d be singing his praises. It’s a fine line.
“My message to Maro, not that he needs it, is that he should obviously learn his lessons but that can’t take away from the intensity and the way he plays the game.”
Defeats to Scotland and Wales have left England to adopt a damage limitation approach to the visit of France in a week’s time and the final-day trip to Dublin knowing that they can not retain their crown.
A dismal campaign in 2018 saw Jones preside over a fifth place finish, the nation’s worse performance since the 1980s, but with two tricky fixtures to come they could dip below even that two-win campaign.
Before crumbling in the final quarter, England had produced their best rugby of the tournament at the Principality Stadium that included eye-catching flourishes in attack and it is this realisation that will drive them on against France.
“We will be hurting from Wales and looking to put in a serious performance. We need to win the last two games, it’s pretty simple,” George said.
Controversial refereeing performances aside, England's discipline has been on the skids for some time and it's a strong predictor of outcome for Eddie Jones' team
Josh Raisey ??? looks at the numbers, which tell an unequivocal story https://t.co/nOobkSApG9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 1, 2021
“It’s hugely disappointing to have lost the games that we have, but at the same time we are playing against a French side who are considered one of the best in the world at the minute.
“And then we play Ireland who are looking like they are back to their best, so they are two great opportunities for us.
“One of the goals we had when we came into this campaign was to put smiles on people’s faces and we haven’t done that. Well, I don’t think we have.
“So we’re looking to do that and keep it at the forefront of our minds. We’re still desperate to beat France and Ireland.”
Comments on RugbyPass
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments