Nick Cain talks to Saracens lock George Kruis

George Kruis believes that Saracens have an edge when it comes to the business end of the season because they know when to put their feet up. Kruis says that the club’s luxury short-breaks in March allow the players to chill before the blow-torch is applied as they chase a first Heineken Cup – with their quarter-final assignment against Ulster looming large – and a second Premiership.
The table-toppers travel in style, as befits their club mantra, “work exceptionally hard, be treated exceptionally well”. Last Saturday no sooner had Saracens set a new club attendance landmark at Wembley by attracting a record 83,889 crowd, and given Harlequins a five-try
dusting into the bargain, than Kruis and his team-mates re-assembled at Heathrow the following morning and were whisked off to New York for three days of R&R.
Kruis had not been to the Big Apple before and it rounded off a near perfect week for the 24-year-old Sarries and England Saxons second row. Kruis’ eye-catching performance against Quins – including breaking their defensive line for a well-taken try –  confirmed that he is developing into a marauding lock to be reckoned with, a mobile athlete with the priceless asset of always being on or near the ball.
While Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury are justifiably ruling the England second row roost at the moment, there is no leeway for them with Kruis one of a posse of locks desperate to force their way into World Cup contention.
However, Kruis gives praise where it is due. “Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury are really good players. Lawes has a real physical edge and Launchbury is a real dog player, and very technical for quite a young guy.”
Kruis is equally clear cut about his own aims:  “Getting on the New Zealand tour this summer is a massive goal of mine, and I have great opportunities to impress with a number of big games to come this season. I can only put everything out on the field. There’s a good crop of England second rows at the moment with Graham Kitchener, Ed Slater and me all in the mix and trying to work their way in.”

As he reflects on his club’s innovative recreational culture, for which Muzik M’s 1979 London-Paris-New York-Munich hit is a perfect soundtrack, you get the impression of Kruis being articulate and self-assured in a solid, no-frills way.
“When you look at when trips like the one to New York are, it gives a clearer idea of why we do it. There are ten games, with any luck, until the end of the season, and a break now gives you an extra boost where others might be flagging.
“I’d never been there before – it’s a fantastic place, and also nice to have a couple of days off in that sort of environment. A couple of mornings we did some sightseeing – Central Park and Times Square – we had some good meals out together, but we were also left to our own devices.”
The previous year the Sarries outing was to the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Verbier, although Kruis says it didn’t involve any skiing. Before that there were trips to Miami, Abu Dhabi, a couple of visits to the Oktoberfest in Munich, and to David Haye’s heavyweight title fight against Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg three years ago.
In addition, there has been a fun element to pre-season matches with the players getting time on the beach in Rimini after playing Treviso, and a South African safari after playing the Sharks in Durban this season.
He says there was also an initiative test designed by their chief executive Edward Griffiths when they played Toulon a couple of years ago.
“We were dropped off in groups of six – different people to those you are with usually – in various places in Europe like Barcelona and Geneva with some expenses and told to make our own way to Toulon over the next couple of days.”

Kruis explains the team-building thinking behind the policy: “Playing all year is sometimes tough and can get on top of you. It gives you a break and a chance to talk to the guys you play with all season about life outside rugby, and you learn a lot more about your teammates. We say it’s about creating memories, because you have to take something away with you from rugby.”
Sarries are also smart about involving the main support stanchion in most players’ careers, their family. On the day I met Kruis his father, Leo, had been at the club’s ‘Dad’s Day’, where they are invited to watch training and sit-in at the team meeting, to give them an understanding of their sons’ lives as pro sportsmen.
Kruis qualifies for England through his mother, and Holland, because his father is Dutch. However, having been played at school for St John’s, Leatherhead, and Dorking RFC before winning a place at the Saracens Academy, his rugby allegiances are Red Rose.
He also has an academic life, and having got three A grade ‘A’ levels, he is about to complete a business management degree at the University of Hertfordshire. His aptitude for learning has helped him pick up tips, not least from Sarries lineout boffin Steve Borthwick.
“I take as much as I can from Steve there. He’s unbelievably diligent, so I’ve learned from that and do as much analysis as I can. And work-rate. Scoring a try at Wembley was brilliant – one of not many – and a moment to treasure.”
He recognises, however, that life will be a lot tougher against Ulster on Saturday evening at Ravenhill, and that Sarries are underdogs despite their victory over the same side at the same stage last season at Twickenham.
“We and Ulster are quite similar. They have a good set piece and a great kicking game through Ruan Pienaar. However, we have quite a kicking game off 9 ourselves, and we will try to throw something in that disrupts them.”
Kruis suggests that Ulster will find the Saracens attack has altered radically: “Last year we had a structured pod-type game, but now we’ve got bigger ball-carriers in JJ (James Johnston) and Billy (Vunipola). We are more round the corner now, which allows us to play what we see in front of us more.”
He adds:  “Last year’s system had been in place for four years and had become a bit predictable.
“Now it’s more difficult for other sides to read us, we have guys who can break the line, like Billy and Mako (Vunipola). It’s good for me, because I played quite a lot of blindside and like to bring that workrate and mobility to the second row pairing.”
He says that the days of Saracens being out-powered by teams, especially the big French clubs, are numbered. “When we played Clermont three years ago they had huge power over us, but now the gap has closed. We’ve brought in bigger players, and we’ve become bigger players – and those little tweaks make a huge difference.”
Kruis believes that success in Europe is within reach. “We have the squad to do it, but under pressure we have to be a unit. We have to be tighter as a group than we’ve ever been before.”
And that, rather than pop music, is what “London-Paris-New York-Munich” has been all about for Kruis and his fellow Saracens.