Jamie George has required an injection in his neck in order to be fit to begin his tenure as England captain and has yet to return to full training, the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, said.
George was unveiled as Owen Farrell’s successor as England captain on Wednesday but he is sidelined and not deemed fit enough for Saracens’ crucial Champions Cup tie with Lyon on Saturday. McCall is confident George will be fit to train fully when England head to their Six Nations training camp in Girona next week but he has not appeared for his club since 30 December.
“He’s not [fit to face Lyon] but nothing to be alarmed about,” said McCall. “He had an injection in his neck about 10 days ago and he made a great recovery. He’s been training non-contact wise this week so he’s been training with the team and he should be back into full contact training next week when he’s away with England.”
McCall expects George to do a “wonderful job” as England captain and praised the influence the 33-year-old hooker will have during what he described as a “new dawn” at Saracens. George has committed to the club for another two years, and Maro Itoje is expected to follow shortly, but McCall said a major overhaul is coming with Owen Farrell edging closer to a move to Racing 92 and Billy Vunipola among a number of players out of contract at the end of the season.
McCall would not be drawn on Farrell’s impending move – revealing only that the former England captain has informed him of his decision – but conceded his side’s dynasty is coming to an end. “Everybody realises the adventure we’ve been on is coming to an end and there’s a new adventure about to start with a group of younger players we’re incredibly excited about,” said McCall.
“We had a meeting with the board when we presented a group of players who we thought would take us forward after 2014 and that was Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Jackson Wray, Will Fraser, George Kruis, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell, Alex Goode, I’ve probably missed a few out there. They’ve had this 10-year adventure and it’s been an incredible one but it’s coming to an end and a lot of those players won’t be here next year. It’s time for a new one.”
McCall guided Saracens to a cathartic Premiership title last season – their second back in the top flight after their enforced relegation – but they have hit the skids of late, going down to a record defeat by Bordeaux last weekend and losing five of their past seven matches. They now have 10 days to effectively save their current campaign with qualification for the Champions Cup knockout stages in the balance before tomorrow’s clash with Lyon followed by a key league match against Exeter before an extended break during the Six Nations.
Asked if Farrell’s impending departure was proving a distraction – as suggested last weekend by the former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio – McCall said: “There are probably lots of reasons why we’re not playing the way we want and not getting the results we want, but those reasons aren’t really relevant and we’ve just got to make sure we do as well as we can both this Saturday and next.”
