'Saracens have been really good to allow me to train and crack on... it's good to keep involved'
Former England lock George Kruis was at the heart of the third Saracens Heineken Champions Cup triumph in four years when they defeated Leinster last season, but he will be restricted to the role of television viewer when the teams meet again in Saturday’s mouth-watering quarter-final clash on Dublin.
Kruis is one of six starters from the 20-10 come-from-behind victory at Newcastle who is now missing from the Saracens team, a direct result of the financial ramifications of their relegation triggered by Gallagher Premiership salary cap breaches.
Liam Williams, Alex Lozowski, Ben Spencer, Titi Lamositele, Will Skelton and Kruis have left for new challenges but the Test second row has uniquely been allowed to train with the club he represented for twelve years.
Kruis has agreed on an initial one-year deal to join Panasonic Wild Knights and expects to leave for Japan in “four to six weeks”, a switch that will see him play alongside former Wallaby David Pocock and ex-Wales centre Hadleigh Parkes at a club that has Robbie Deans as head coach.
While he has been unable to train against the Saracens players for insurance reasons, Kruis has been working out at the club and has offered insights into the Leinster lineout. He is adamant that despite the loss of key players from last year’s winning team, including the suspended Owen Farrell and loan departures Jack Singleton, Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl and Nick Tompkins, talk of the result being a foregone conclusion is premature.
Last year's finalists do battle once more on Saturday ⚔️
Will it be revenge for @leinsterrugby or the double for @Saracens? 👀
Watch the #HeinekenChampionsCup quarter-final LIVE on @btsport 📺 pic.twitter.com/PORsOm1FxK
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) September 14, 2020
Saracens may be bottom of the Premiership thanks to the points penalties their salary breaches delivered, but they have won enough matches to be inside the top four and making the last-eight of the European Cup offers the chance to give captain Brad Barritt and scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth one more trophy to mark the end of their remarkable careers at the club.
Assessing how Saracens are shaping up for Saturday, Kruis told RugbyPass: “It would be nice to be preparing to play in Dublin but I’m keen to get out to Japan. I made a decision early doors and have stuck to it. I’m around the playing group a fair bit and we have had some conversations and it’s good to keep involved. It’s a good relationship.
“Brad and Richard have been class for the club and they are ingrained in what we have been doing and the success. I will be watching the match on the box – the Saracens team looks really good and there is experience in key positions. Obviously, a lot of guys have left or gone on loan, but there is a decent chunk of players who know their roles and I’m hopeful of them pulling it off.
“Saracens have been really good to allow me to train and crack on. I have a young lad who helps with my training programme and also with GPS and other support and they didn’t need to do that. I’m massively grateful to the club but insurance-wise I have not trained with the players. However, it’s great to knock around with them in the gym.”
Visas for sportsmen and women heading for Japan are currently being arranged for a wide range of sports, not just rugby, and Kruis admits it is comforting to finally have a target to aim for following the quarantine complications created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is a rush to the embassy to get visas sorted out and I need to be there by the start of November and will probably head to Japan in mid-October,” said Kruis, who has been able to spend ample time working at www.fourfivecbd.co.uk, the cannabis oil company he set-up with Wales lock Dominic Day.
“I have been on calls, including a leadership one with the club in Japan, and I’m getting used to the translation. They are very proactive in getting information out of you and Robbie Deans is a very likeable character. I have been in touch on a regular basis with Hadleigh, who is back in New Zealand, to catch up and share information about moving abroad.
“Over the last six months I have had a great opportunity to get stuck into the (cannabis oil) business and it has interesting managing employees through the Covid period. As players, we live a sheltered life and in times like this it has opened people’s eyes to the fact they need to start looking at planning off the field. Being based in Japan will allow us to look into the demand in that country for natural medicines and there is a lot of work I can be doing over there.”
Preparing for a new life in Japan has been made easier by the fact so many players are heading to the Far East from England, including club teammate Alex Goode, Charlie Matthews (Harlequins) and Bath’s Freddie Burns.
Kruis has been taking lessons to learn the language. “I’m continuing to try and learn the language and while it’s not the worst in the world, it could be better. I don’t know if the lineout calls will be in English or Japanese. That is the next online meeting and I don’t know if they will be able to understand me in either!”
Always a silver lining https://t.co/Afb5E8f0F0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 15, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments