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England captain Jamie George injury scare on eve of Six Nations
Saracens boss Mark McCall says Jamie George should return to full-contact training next week as he prepares to captain England in the Guinness Six Nations.
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The 33-year-old will miss Saracens’ Investec Champions Cup clash against Lyon on Saturday, and he was also not involved during last weekend’s record 55-15 European loss to Bordeaux-Begles.
England kick off their Six Nations campaign against Italy in Rome on February 3.
McCall confirmed that George would not be available to face Lyon, but he added: “It is nothing to be alarmed about.
“He had an injection in his neck about 10 days ago and he has made a great recovery.
“He has been training non-contact wise this week, so he has been training with the team, and he should be back into full contact training next week when he is away with England.
“He has had a bit of a stiff neck, it has been giving him a bit of trouble and not being able to scrum in the week in the way that he wants.
“It has settled down completely now, and he will be back into full training next week.”
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McCall, meanwhile, has backed George to do a “wonderful job” when he succeeds his Saracens colleague Owen Farrell as England skipper.
“He is very emotionally intelligent, he just connects with everybody, to be honest, whether you are the youngest in the squad or the oldest in the squad,” McCall said.
“He has always been a leader, he has always been a glue player who holds the squad together.
“And when you are going through tough periods and moments like we are right now, he is the kind of person you want in your corner.
“I’ve known him since he was 17 or 18, and just to watch him grow from his last year at school to what he has become is incredible, really.
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“To show the patience that he showed when he had Schalk Brits and John Smit in front of him (as Saracens hookers). Jamie didn’t become a regular in the (matchday) 23 and become a starter until he was 24.
“When he did, he played for England very quickly, so he is a good example to a lot of young players that you will come through when you are ready to come through.
“He has come through with a bang. He has been on Lions tours, he’s got 80-odd caps for England and he is now captain of his country. What a career he has had.”
Comments on RugbyPass
What 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.
2 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.
40 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.
41 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
41 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.
41 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.
40 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.
2 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 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.
4 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
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
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