'I don't blame him for doing what he's done' - Jamie George

While readying to deal with the altitude of Pretoria, Saracens and England hooker Jamie George took some time out to have a chat with Jim Hamilton ahead of the Champions Cup round one clash with the Bulls on Saturday.

Speaking on RugbyPass TV, George went into depth about England’s Rugby World Cup semi final loss at the hands of South Africa. He said that there are still scars that will live with him for a long time, adding that the 2023 semi final loss was actually tougher to take than the 2019 final loss.

“I’m gutted about it and it’s something I’ve learned a lot from. You could see how shocked they (South Africa) were. We know Andy Edwards well, head of performance there, and he was saying that when they were in at half time, they didn’t know what to do, what to think.

“The way that we played, we took them on up front. Kicking game, I thought we were tactically outstanding, Owen (Farrell) was unbelievable.

"When we play like that, we can take any team on, and they went on to win the tournament. You’d argue that we would have given New Zealand a good run in that final too.”

On Farrell, George spoke at length about his captain's controversial upcoming break from playing for England.

“You know, I know how much it means to him to play for England. He's given his life and soul to that team. But then when I reflect on it as a mate, going through what he's had to go through, I don't blame him for doing what he's done.

“He's had such a hard time, and he just needs a bit of time to work some stuff out. And I am incredibly proud, first and foremost as a mate. - he's one of my closest mates - of him for doing this because of how much I know it means to him to play for England.

“But he's putting himself first, he's putting his family first and he's got an amazing family, he's got two great kids, he's got an amazing wife. He's really, really close with his other family also. It was really tough to see. It was really tough to hear.”

George says he discussed it all with Farrell before the announcement and doesn’t disagree with his decision.

“I spoke to him in depth before it was announced and he sort of gave me his reasons as to why and… I don't blame him, mate, I really don't blame him because of the heat that he was getting from the media stuff internally, the social media stuff, that he didn't really read too much of. But as a player, you know, it's there. You get booed by home fans…

“He is one of the greats of our game. He is probably, if not the best player to have ever played rugby for England and in my opinion, and he's my mate, so I'm going to say this, but I genuinely believe it. I think that he is probably one of the best sports people that England has ever produced. I'm talking, like, across all sports in terms of his leadership, how much he's given to the game, how he's transformed a team, his longevity in the game.

“He was 21 years old when he first played and you look at him now and he's grown and matured a huge amount, but yet he's sort of almost seen in a negative light sometimes and I find that really difficult. I've really struggled to get my head around it and look, I hope this time away from it now is going to be good for him. I know that it will be.

“I know that he's going to be able to sort of switch off from it all and get away from it all. And it's important for him. Ultimately, the most important thing is for him to get himself right and work some stuff out and we're all going to be behind him and give everything that we can to make sure that he is all right.

“And actually, why can't we just be a little bit nicer to people? Because Owen should be considered one of the best players to have ever played the game. And yet here he is taking some time out because of all the heat that he's getting. It just doesn't sit well with me.”

On Saturday’s clash with the Bulls in the heat of Pretoria, George is relishing the opportunity.

“Coming over here, playing in the heat, playing at altitude, against a really good team, hopefully putting in a good performance and getting a good win is a great way to start the campaign for us.

“It’s going to be confrontational and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us. We wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The Bulls host Saracens at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday at 18:30 local time in Pretoria.

You can watch the full interview with Jamie George for free now on Rugbypass TV