Jamie George to captain England in Owen Farrell's absence - report

Saracens hooker Jamie George is set to be named England captain tomorrow when head coach Steve Borthwick announces his squad for the Guinness Six Nations, The Telegraph have reported.

The 89-cap England international will replace his Saracens teammate Owen Farrell, who has stepped down from England duty for the foreseeable future for personal reasons.

Since Farrell made the announcement in November, plenty of names have been mooted as candidates to fill the captaincy void.

Typically Courtney Lawes has captained England when the flyhalf has been unavailable, but the Northampton Saints star retired from rugby after the World Cup. Tom Curry has led England in the past as well, but is out of the Six Nations with a hip injury. Ellis Genge has captained England during Steve Borthwick's tenure, against France last year, but is also struggling with a hamstring injury and is fighting to be fit for the start of the Championship.

George, who also has three British & Irish Lions caps, is not only one of the most experienced players Borthwick has to choose from, but is crucially likely to start. Having said that, The Telegraph have also reported that George's long standing competitor for the England No2 jersey, Luke Cowan-Dickie, is set to return to the set-up after missing the World Cup with a neck issue.

Speaking on RugbyPass TV recently, George, 33, said that he does not blame Farrell for taking time out of Test rugby, whilst also describing him as the best player to have ever played for England.

“You know, I know how much it means to him to play for England," he said.

"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.

“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.”