For the players of England and Wales this feels like a timely week to recall Rudyard Kipling’s most famous poem. “If you can keep your head while all around you are losing theirs …’ The threatened Welsh players’ strike may have been averted but only now, with both teams announced, is Saturday’s game of rugby at the Principality Stadium finally emerging from beneath a huge, steaming pile of off-field issues.
It is not simply a question of whether Wales can rise above a uniquely turbulent, fractious week. Contractual negotiations have also been ongoing east of the Severn Bridge and England’s senior pros have been monitoring the situation in Wales as closely as anyone. A new professional game agreement in England, potentially involving some belt-tightening, has to be finalised before 2024 and the Saracens hooker Jamie George is among those keenly aware that difficult conversations may yet await closer to home.
Rather than rubbing their hands at this week’s uproar in Wales, therefore, the likes of George have been cheering on their opponents’ from afar. “We have a huge amount of sympathy for the Welsh players,” said the Saracens forward, shortly before the red rose team bus departed Bagshot en route for Cardiff. “I can understand why they’re as frustrated as they are … I’m glad they have stood up for themselves and I hope they can get sorted.”
Smart, seasoned players such as George can see a bigger picture emerging. The fall of Wasps and Worcester has focused everyone’s minds, the fragility of professional rugby’s finances is increasingly evident, and the pressure on Premiership budgets is not going away. “It’s glaringly obvious the Premiership isn’t in a place we want it to be in either,” said George. “Rugby is in a bit of an interesting space at the moment and player voice is as important as ever.”
Beyond the challenge of a reshuffled Wales side with a major point to prove on Saturday, too, is the reality that rugby needs to stop the bickering and unite to address the underlying reasons for the fall-off in adult participation further down the pyramid. George’s uncle Robbie is the longtime director of rugby at Towcestrians RFC in Northamptonshire and has been keeping his nephew informed about the latest grassroots trends. “He’s telling me he’s worried about participation numbers and how difficult it is to put out teams. That is a worry. It is the game we love and we want it to reach as many people as we possibly can.”
The more encouraging news is that all involved – the Rugby Football Union, the clubs and the players – now seem to recognise that collaboration is the only viable way forward. As George says: “You never want it to get to the point where strikes are on the cards because that means confrontation and one side against the other. We want to try and work together.
“I think the unfortunate situations with Wasps and Worcester probably have led to a bit of self reflection across the board, from unions to the Rugby Players’ Association. The RFU, in particular, has been great in terms of wanting to know what the players’ thoughts are. If you can then come to a solution between the two that’s the best way of going forward.”
More immediately, though, George knows exactly what is being said in the Wales dressing room, having endured fierce off-field turbulence himself in the darkest days of the Saracens salary cap saga. “I have been in a similar situation. You kind of love it when things aren’t going well off the field and there is a lot of noise going on. What it can do is really rally you and make you a stronger unit. Us against the world, let’s go out and prove some people wrong. I am sure those are the sort of messages people like Alun Wyn Jones are giving out.”
In Saracens’ case, it was a European game against Racing 92 in January 2020 when their pent-up frustration came gushing out. “We had just been officially relegated after all the rubbish that had gone on over the previous couple of months,” recalled George. “It is probably one of my favourite rugby memories. We went down to 14 men, we somehow beat Racing at home and then we all got into a huddle. If I could have one framed rugby picture at home it would be that, because it means a lot.”
Hence why England, whose last Six Nations win in Cardiff came in 2017, have now crossed the Severn with a renewed sense of wariness. “We are expecting the best possible Wales team, a very passionate team and one that is driven to win,” says George. “We are aware of what is coming but … if we are emotionally, mentally and tactically right, it negates that.” If you can keep your head etc etc? Kipling or no Kipling, an exceedingly good contest awaits.
