England hooker Jamie George has backed head coach Eddie Jones‘ inside knowledge of the Japanese way of life to give them a lift ahead of next week’s World Cup quarter-finals.
England headed out of Tokyo last Thursday within minutes of World Rugby‘s confirmation that their pool match with France had been cancelled.
They went straight to Miyazaki, a beachside resort to the north of the Japanese capital, for some warm weather training which is a particular favourite of Jones.
Jones, who has a Japanese mother and has coached the Japanese team, has become accustomed to the ways of the world in the Far East in particular typhoons, like Hagibis, which descended on the Tokyo area at the weekend.
But George says his boss’s inside track on the life in Japan gives England a leg-up ahead of next weekend’s quarter-finals.
“I guess it’s one of the many benefits of having Eddie as our coach,” George said. “He told us that there was the potential for this to happen.
“It came to us as a massive shock to the system, but I think the most impressive thing for me was how our logistics team handled it all, within a few hours we already had a plan in place and to come down here and we’re all on flights, fair play to them. We get treated pretty well.”
George’s parents were among the thousands of England fans who missed out on yesterday’s first version of Le Crunch in Japan.
But the Saracens mainstay has been left to his own devices as his nearest and dearest did the England trick and got out of town.
He added: “My parents actually left on Thursday when we found out there wasn’t going to be a game, they’ve flown back to be with my brother who lives in Bangkok, and then my girlfriend headed out of Tokyo.
“I know people who flew here just for the weekend. We’re obviously gutted for those guys, trust me we’d much rather be playing but I think as difficult as it is it’s a unique circumstance.
“With the magnitude of the typhoon you’ve got to take that into account. It’s hugely disappointing for those guys.”
Assistant coach Steve Borthwick said: “From the coaches’ and players’ perspective it was very straight forward.
“First and foremost you want to make sure everyone is safe. Hopefully this storm passes and everyone is safe and there’s minimal damage.
“Japan is really well prepared for different types of natural weather such as earthquakes.
“But this is one of the best training facilities for rugby in Japan and our logistics department are superb.
“We got a plan together and it was organised in no time.”
ADAM HATHAWAY
