Jamie George is England’s form hooker, says Alistair Hargreaves
Hargreaves reckons club colleague George was the best No.2 in the Premiership last season and has no concerns over the 24-year-old’s ability to cut it on the big stage.
“Jamie’s been absolutely phenomenal,” Hargreaves told The Rugby Paper. “After playing behind a great player like Schalk Brits for years, he took his opportunity brilliantly with both hands last season and it’s only deserved that he’s in that England side.
“He was the form hooker in the whole country and I hope for his sake he makes it. If he doesn’t I think they’d be making a huge mistake because he’ll be a huge asset for any team – and specifically this England side at a home World Cup.
“His performances speak for themselves and he does really well in terms of testing off the field. He’s up there with the fittest forwards in the England squad and he’s a great leader who talks well, is a popular guy and would add to that team environment.”
Lancaster spoke highly of George during the recent training camp in Denver, admitting the man who replaced suspended Dylan Hartley had “impressed” him.
George is likely to survive next week’s squad cut and be allowed to fight it out with Rob Webber and Luke Cowan-Dickie for the two World Cup spots behind Tom Youngs.
Hargreaves added: “I’ve no concerns about Jamie rising to the challenge, or the fact that he hasn’t won any caps. Sometimes people harp on too much about experience but he’s played over 100 games for Saracens, many of them on the big stage.
“He’s played in front of 80,000 people at Twickenham and Wembley and what’s important is you get the best players out there, which Jamie certainly is.
“The basics of his game are fantastic – he throws the ball brilliantly at the lineout and scrums really well – and, as you saw in the Premiership final, he’s got the X-factor as well with great hands and a fair bit of pace about him.
“Throughout our Champions Cup campaign he was up there with the most tackles in the whole competition, so he’s proved himself at the highest level.”
Hargreaves, meanwhile, believes South Africa are shaping up well ahead of the World Cup despite his countrymen losing their first two Rugby Championship matches.
The Springboks could count themselves unfortunate to lose narrowly to Australia and New Zealand, but Hargreaves believes many positives outweigh the negatives, with the form of their revamped back-line a source of particular satisfaction.
He said: “I’m sure (head coach) Heyneke Meyer is frustrated to have lost both games but I’ve been very impressed with the way South Africa have gone.
“Unfortunately, they’ve thrown away two games in the last 10 minutes, but they’ve blooded some young players who look very exciting and it’s a well settled pack.
“The 10, 12 and 13 combination of Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel has been very effective. I’m sure a lot of people had doubts over Kriel going from full-back to 13 because of his lack of experience, but he’s been great.
“Another strong performer has been the young lock, Lood de Jager. There was a lot of consternation when Victor Matfield went down against Australia but De Jager adds a hell of a lot in his own right and has been a revelation in there. I wasn’t expecting that much from him, but he’s been very physical, has made plenty of tackles and I’ve been impressed by the way he’s stepped up.
“Even if Victor’s fit now, De Jager might offer something a bit more competitive in that area.”
Hargreaves hailed attack-minded fly-half Pollard, adding: “He takes the ball to the line and he’s not scared of running the ball and having a dip, which is great to see.
“He’s quite a big boy who gets his hands dirty at the breakdown, winning turnover ball, and although he’s got a lot to learn still, he’s a very good player.
“Pollard certainly seems to have got that back-line going and he makes good decisions most of the time. He’s a threat in attack and defence so it’s good to see an exciting Springbok back-line that can do some damage against the top sides.”
Premiership champions Saracens, meanwhile, have refocused their sights, with success in next season’s Champions Cup a prime target.
Hargreaves, who successfully filled the boots of Steve Borthwick last season by captaining his side to a domestic clean sweep, explained: “We’re up against quality sides in our Pool in Ulster, Toulouse and Oyonnax, but I believe 100 per cent that we can put ourselves in a position to reach the final, regardless of who we play.
“We’ve done really well in the competition over the last three seasons, reaching the semi-finals and final, so we feel we have a great chance.”
Hargreaves is proud to have achieved success after succeeding Borthwick, adding: “I guess there was some apprehension but the fact Steve was such an exceptional leader and had a unique way meant no one was ever going to replicate him.
“I approached it my own way and it was really rewarding. I had a lot of good guys around me and I’m a great believer in using the people at my disposal, so as a leadership group we managed to fill the gap and get something to show for it.
“It wasn’t smooth sailing and we hit some tricky spots, but we learned from the experiences of losing big finals over the last couple of years.”
NEALE HARVEY
