Finding a way to deal with anxiety is all part of professional sport but the method employed by England’s latest debutant, Jamie George, is something else again. The Saracens hooker, set to feature off the bench against France in Paris , must surely be the first international player to soothe his nerves by pretending he is back in his bedroom at home.
Few boudoirs contain a phalanx of French lineout jumpers or enough space to practise long throws without an instant tinkling of glass but that, it seems, is not the point. When the moment comes for him to throw in, George likes to imagine he is lying back and thinking of England, surrounded by home comforts.
“When I’m throwing I like to put myself in my bedroom and let nothing else come into that bubble,” he said. “It’s a place where I’m comfortable. Golfers call it their happy place. I haven’t got a lot of money so it’s a very small room. I’m not in there aiming at anything in particular. It’s just a way of lowering my heart rate and settling my nerves.”
If one or two gnarled former hookers are not already snorting with cynicism – “Happy place? He must be joking” – they will be even more baffled to hear the engaging George reveal he also models his throwing action on a cricket cover-drive. “The best cricketers play a shot and, when they finish it, they hold their pose.” George used to share a room at school with the England one-day cricketer Sam Billings and an appreciation of high elbows seems to have rubbed off.
Already it should be pretty clear the newcomer is not your average, bog-standard hooker. Having learned his trade at Saracens under the tuition of South Africa’s World Cup-winning hooker John Smit, George is renowned for his set-piece accuracy and, following Dylan Hartley’s suspension for butting his young opponent at the end of last season, now has the opportunity to make England’s final 31-man squad for the World Cup.
A similar chance beckoned for Luke Cowan-Dickie last weekend, only for the Exeter player’s throwing to go astray in the closing stages of the 19-14 win over France at Twickenham. The rematch at the Stade de France thus looms as George’s moment of truth. Make an impact off the bench, hit his jumpers and contribute around the field and the late arrival will be pretty much certain to join Tom Youngs and Rob Webber on England’s World Cup hooking roster.
Hence the desire to stay as calm as possible, courtesy of his unorthodox bedroom technique. “Throwing is a closed skill and it’s not just physical. You have to try to block off everything that’s going on in your mind. The mental side of throwing is very big and you have to try to take yourself out of the occasion.”
Given he hails from a proud rugby family – his father, Ian, played for London Welsh – his debut will clearly stir a few emotions. “It’s a massive opportunity. I just want to make the most of the occasion and enjoy it as much as I can. I have to make sure I am as accurate as I can be with regards to the set piece, get my hands on the ball in the loose and make a few tackles. The top players want to play against the top players and, if I am striving to be a top player, then that is what I’ve got to do. I’m fully aware I need to put in a good performance for the team but selection for the World Cup is out of my control.”
George is by no means the only English player keen to catch Stuart Lancaster’s eye in England’s final game before the World Cup squad are announced. Northampton’s Luther Burrell needs a particularly good performance alongside Jonathan Joseph to stay ahead of the midfield challengers Sam Burgess and Henry Slade but insists it will be no different from any other Test he has played for his country.
“In every game I’ve played for England the pressure of performance has always been there,” Burrell said. “When the pressure is on I think I react positively. It’s not so much about sending messages but about performing well for the team, sticking to my role and not doing anything out of character. If I can control my game, then it’ll be a headache for the coaches.”
