“Go on, say it….” Ellis Genge began, confronting the question he expected was to come. Only twice previously has the prop led England out, as he will against Fiji this weekend, having been named as co-captain alongside a benched Maro Itoje; his recollections of a 53-10 thrashing by France and a World Cup warm-up defeat against Wales are not overwhelmingly positive.
As it happened, the journalist had actually embarked with alternative intentions in his line of questioning, but since Genge had broached the matter, the record defeat at Twickenham during the 2023 Six Nations had to be touched upon. The captain, of course, had already been reminded by his squadmates. “Immediately, I had a few boys coming up to me saying, ‘let’s hope it goes better than last time’,” Genge said after being named to lead a heavily changed England team this week.
“It’s an honour every time you run out, really. It’s not necessarily something that massively changes the way I feel about representing England. It’s not like shouldering any more burden; it doesn’t make the shirt any heavier for me, it’s not something that will change a lot of what I’m doing at the moment. It’s a crazy thing to be able to say in years to come that you have captained your country three times, and something I’ll do with great pride.”
Beyond speaking slightly more in the week, Genge’s leadership role has not changed significantly. The loosehead is already an important orator and leader by example within the England squad; with Itoje as co-captain and three appointed vice-captains in the matchday 23, as well as the ever-influential George Ford outside of it, there is significant leadership density around it. But it is Genge who often lights the fire within the squad, as he did with the British and Irish Lions in the summer – his chest-thumping, “head-banging” speeches are among the highlights of the documentary chronicling the tour of Australia, though he suggests that his style is slightly different within a group whose emotional buttons he is more familiar with pressing.
There will be a few painful experiences upon which Genge can draw, not least Fiji’s last visit to Twickenham. Three weeks after that Welsh warm-up defeat came a ransacking of England’s home, a first ever defeat to the Pacific Islanders that left them reeling as they entered the 2023 Rugby World Cup. While there was some mitigation for a poor performance and Steve Borthwick’s side came good in their group stage opener against Argentina, there is still lingering frustration that may be drawn upon as Genge charges the troops for battle on Saturday evening.
“It feels like I’ve been a part of a lot of heartache,” Genge reflected as another difficult memory was dredged up. “It was a tough day – we spoke about the conversation we had four days after it and how uncomfortable it was, and obviously, you don’t want to replicate those feelings.
“[It was] a bit of a rude awakening, wasn’t it? You’re going into a World Cup and you lose that game. We are not taking them lightly by any means. Take yourself back to two years ago and everyone would have thought that Fiji would be an easy fixture, but it’s not the case at all. You have to give them credit where it’s due and prepare as if it’s any other Test.”
Genge was informed by Steve Borthwick on Sunday night that he would be leading the starting XV this week, once it became clear that Itoje would not train on Monday or Tuesday due to a minor lower limb injury. Misfortune has forced Borthwick’s hand, somewhat, in an alternative selection to that which he might have plotted ahead of November – a desire to give Tommy Freeman as much run at outside centre as possible has been put on hold, perhaps temporarily, with Tom Roebuck ruled out and up against it to make the meeting with the All Blacks next Saturday.
There is no sense, though, of rotation for rotation’s sake, even with some different combinations deployed. Gone are the days of a rag-tag Fiji turning up to Twickenham severely underprepared – the development of the Fijian Drua within Super Rugby Pacific has added structure both on and off the field, with their European-based standouts now sprinkled through Mick Byrne’s more cohesive selection. While they will pose different threats to other oppositions, particularly with their offloading and jackalling ability across the pitch, any team that can afford to leave Bayonne’s dynamite centre Sireli Maqala on the bench clearly has a talent surplus.
Going toe to toe with England twice, including in a World Cup quarter-final last time out, will only help their confidence. “The fact that we’ve been there on that big stage at Twickenham and then in the quarter-final, it means we’ve been there before," head coach Byrne said, with his side due to face England again on South African soil next July in the new Nations Championship. “It takes away that element of players being overawed by the occasion, which keeps a real good focus on our ability to play our game.”
Genge is particularly familiar with a couple of Fijian foes. Bristol Bears colleagues Viliame Mata and Kalaveti Ravouvou, who start at No 8 and outside centre respectively, are easy-going off the pitch but anything but on it. “Every Fijian I’ve ever played with, they’re brilliant, brilliant people,” Genge suggested. “They’re very laidback and very casual about things. But don’t be fooled – Bill Mata is a nasty piece of work when he’s on the pitch.
“I love watching him melt people for Bristol, and I am sure he’s going to try to do the same to me on the weekend. I made it clear to the boys that although these people grow up on beaches, throwing a rugby ball about, and they’re lovely people, they are very nasty to play against.
“I do not want any of the boys to be shocked by that and the physical battle of attrition that is going to come. There’s not a rich history of England v Fiji matches, but the bottom line is they beat us last time we played at Twickenham.” Genge and his squad are not keen on a repeat.
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