https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/aa10 ... eb05efaa17
Jamie George’s plan for England to rekindle romance with fans
Jamie George is positioning himself as an England captain for the people.
The Saracens hooker comes from a family steeped in rugby. His father, Ian, was a scrum half for Northampton Saints, London Welsh and the Barbarians and spent three decades coaching at Haileybury School. His uncle, Robbie, was a hooker for Northampton and a key influence in George ending up in the front row – although with a neck that size, what option did he have?
George has helped his uncle coach at Towcestrians RFC, retaining links with grassroots rugby while forging an outstanding career at the very top of the game. The 33-year-old has, therefore, never been oblivious to the views of England supporters. But the alarm bells began to ring when even his uncle admitted he was feeling disaffected.
England under Eddie Jones, their divisive previous head coach, made few friends as the results and the quality of the rugby steadily declined after reaching the 2019 World Cup final. When the team were booed at Twickenham for the first time, after a defeat by South Africa in 2022, the RFU awoke from its slumber and made a change.
Steve Borthwick took charge just over a year ago and England bottomed out. The rugby that carried them to a bronze medal at the last World Cup was of a style that only a mother could love, and it led to more boos during the pool stage, but the character England showed helped to rekindle the team’s relationship with the nation.
Heading into the Six Nations, George wants to ignite a full-blown romance. We have heard this many times before but the new captain, appointed after Owen Farrell stood down from Test duty, is doing something about it. The England squad have made representations to Borthwick, the head coach, about how they want to play. Winning remains the priority but George is placing greater emphasis on how they win.
For the first time, the squad have held meetings to discuss how to improve the Twickenham experience for everyone and how the players can connect better with the supporters. The RFU has organised two open training sessions during the Six Nations — one at Twickenham and one in York.
On match day, the players want to extend their walk into the stadium, encourage better use of music during games and give more time afterwards for autographs and photographs: something that is warmly embraced by the women’s team.
These proposals have been submitted to the RFU before England’s first home game of the Six Nations, against Wales on February 10. Longer term, the players want to see a more diverse supporter base at Twickenham, although George recognises that would require a radical shift in ticketing policy, which is above even his pay grade.
“English rugby has a lot of work to do,” George says. “If we’re completely honest, English rugby hasn’t been in the best place in terms of teams going bust in the Premiership and grassroots numbers falling.
“We are aware that, at the top of the game, we have an opportunity to reach as many people across England as we can and change perceptions. There are lots of reasons why participation numbers are going down but the most important thing for us is that we become good role models and we care about the impact we have on the English public.”
England’s recent Six Nations record is woeful. They have managed only two wins in each of the past three championships. At the start of a new era, there is a definite sense of the players wanting greater ownership of the team. That much was evident when The Times revealed that the squad were splitting from the Rugby Players Association and creating a new company to handle their commercial affairs.
George is applying that ethos to how he wants England to play. A huge cricket fan, he is not calling for a Bazball-style revolution. There are plenty of ways in this sport to get fans excited, from swarming defence to a dominant scrum. But a greater ambition in attack is on the agenda: the same shift in emphasis that helped Saracens expand their game last season and win the Gallagher Premiership.
“The style of play probably had an implication on why there was booing so that is definitely something that is in conversation,” George says. “Ultimately this team will base its game plan on winning games. That has to be at the forefront, but at the same time conversations are certainly being had around how we get people off their seats. People want to see tries.
“The conversations that we’re having with Richard Wigglesworth [the attack coach] are about how excited we can get around our attack. Felix Jones has come in [as defence coach, having won two World Cups with South Africa] and his energy is eleven out of ten. The intensity that he wants us to defend at, I think, will get people off their seats. The physicality we can show, people can get behind us on that front.
“Any person turning on the TV, the very baseline of what they’ll see is a huge amount of passion, people enjoying playing for their country, but also fighting like hell and showing a huge amount of character. That’s the bare minimum. If I weren’t playing, that’s what I would want to see as an England rugby fan.
“How we evolve our attack and how we try to beat teams, make line breaks, score tries — that’s what we can get excited about. I’m not necessarily saying you will see drastic changes and we will turn into the Harlem Globetrotters.
“What we achieved at Sarries was the ability to manipulate the defence. Generally we kicked the ball a lot, so teams were putting more numbers in the backfield. That meant there was a numerical advantage in the front line. So let’s get back into a position so that we can have a go.”
England begin their Six Nations campaign against Italy in Rome on Saturday. The championship gets tougher for them week-on-week with Wales at home, Scotland away, Ireland at home and then France away on the final weekend. Those two home games are critical.
“I had so many messages after the World Cup, saying, ‘You have put a huge amount of pride back in the England jersey’. And that means a huge amount to me,” George says. “Now we’re back at home. Our record at Twickenham hasn’t been good enough over the past few years but this is a new team.
“We are having discussions about how we can engage with fans more. That’s never happened since I have been in the England squad. We broke up into groups and spoke about the best stadiums we’ve played at and why.
“The walk into the stadium is one of the best moments as an England rugby player, getting off the bus and being hit with a wall of noise. I’ll remember that forever. Rather than drive past thousands of people who are at the Guinness tent, we could walk in from the gate.
“If I was a kid stood by the gate and I just see the bus go by, that’s a different experience to [one where] the bus stops in front of you and you get to see Maro Itoje and Marcus Smith and Danny Care and Dan Cole walk past you. Being able to walk through and feel the atmosphere, generate the atmosphere, I think has a positive impact.
“We want Twickenham to be a tough place for oppositions to come and play, and creating an atmosphere like that is important to us as well. We spoke about a more diverse Twickenham. I think it’s all part of a process.
“We have got a responsibility as a team to be successful. The more success we have, the more interest we have in the game across the country. Off the back of that, the more outreach we can have, the better. It’s not for me to say about the ticketing pricing and the rest of it. But reaching the right target audience is important for us as a team.”
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I knew you’d love this idea.