'One of the best in the world': Mako Vunipola lauds former team-mate

Mako Vunipola has hugged Jamie George more times than his own family, and their close front-row bond was a key factor for the British and Irish Lions, England and Saracens.

As George prepares to lead England out against Wales at the start of their Six Nations campaign, Vunipola paid tribute to the hooker that he first hugged with his right arm to bind as tight as possible while packing down for England U18 where they were raw teenagers learning their front-row trade.

Together they went onto form a formidable double act, one that opposition tighthead props were determined to splinter but few succeeded. George has announced he will retire from rugby after the 2027 World Cup and Vunipola is delighted his fellow 35-year-old is going to leave on this own terms.

Vunipola told RugbyPass: “As a loosehead and hooker, if the tighthead gets between you then that spells bad news and that is why our relationship was so key. If you get split apart then you are both in trouble.

“Having played with Jamie for so long you get an idea of what the opposition tighthead might do and it’s a case of us then talking about what each of us is feeling in the scrum. Knowing each other for so long, we were able to be honest and frank with those conversations and it brought the best out of me. It helped us both over the years.

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“As good you are around the pitch, you are picked because of your basics and as front-rowers that is the scrum and you have to learn (the trade). We have done that and Jamie is now at the point where he is one of the best in the world and is able to adapt on the pitch during a game.

“It is awesome that Jamie is going to be finishing on his terms and I spoke to him after the last World Cup and he said he may continue until the 2027 one and I thought he was joking. For him to be able to be play at such a high level at our age is not normal, especially in the front-row and I wish him all the best against France,”

Vunipola will be watching England’s opening match at his home in Vannes where he has helped the local team to the top of the Pro D2 and they are in a strong position to return to the Top 14.

The Vunipola and George double act appeared in all three Lions Tests in 2017 in the drawn series with New Zealand, at World Cups with England and helped Saracens to Champions Cup and Gallagher PREM glory. George has played a record 105 times as a hooker for England and more than 300 games for Saracens with Vunipola winning 79 England caps and turning out for the North London club over 230 times before heading to France in 2024.

The pair were regular roommates which meant George had to put up with Vunipola’s snoring and love of windups, leading the hooker to describe his mate as an “under the radar prankster.”

Vunipola has been impressed with George’s captaincy and ability to lead others and said: “Jamie has always been a great speaker and it comes from the heart and he leads with his actions and words. The team is in very capable hands and he will lead the charge from the front.

“Jamie is always upbeat – more than me – and has a lot of energy and gets along with everyone. I do enjoy giving team-mates a lot of grief and he was sometimes on the end of that banter and we shared rooms together.

“He is a great friend and my snoring is something I have had to work on over the years, particularly now that I have my own kids. Poor Jamie had to deal with my snoring.”

As George begins to wind down his career having announced he will quit the sport after the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, why does Vunipola believe his mate had been so successful for so long at the highest level?

“I first played with Jamie for England U18 and then the U20 and front-rowers usually kind of stick together and we are close being the same age. When I joined Sarries he was very helpful as I adjusted to a new club (having joined from Bristol).

“Jamie has always had a great skills set, a good passer of the ball which is not common for front-rowers and was quicker than he looked and unbelievably fit. That was something he always had and he was also a great line out thrower from an early age and then developed his scrummaging as he got older.

“Jamie is always switched on at training and to play that many games for your country and Saracens doesn’t happen unless you put in the hard work.”