Jamie George: ‘England in a very good place’, says captain
England captain Jamie George says his side are “in a very good place” after ending their Autumn Nations Series by thrashing Eddie Jones’ Japan at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
The nine-try win ensured Steve Borthwick’s side avoided six straight losses and ended their autumn campaign with a victory after close defeats by New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
England held leads over both the All Blacks and the Wallabies before failing to close out the victory, with both games going down to the final play.
“The plan is very, very clear, we’re being coached very, very well, but we’re not able to put it out on the field for 80 minutes,” George told BBC 5 Live.
“There’s so much to be proud of over four performances, I think we put some of the best teams in the world under a lot of pressure.
“We arguably could have won all three of those games. The team is in a very good place.”
England have lost seven games this year, with only only two of those defeats – against world champions South Africa and Scotland in this year’s Six Nations – being by more than one score.
Borthwick has used 2024 to blood new talent after a number of his core squad called time on their international careers following the third-place finish at last year’s Rugby World Cup.
Northampton Saints wing Ollie Sleightholme, 24, debuted in July and scored his fourth international try against Jones’ Japan, with his Saints team-mate Tommy Freeman, 23, establishing himself as a regular.
Freeman provided arguably the moment of the match against the Brave Blossoms with a behind-the-back pass to full-back George Furbank, who has also become a regular in the backline this year.
“We have got such a brilliant squad who are so easy to lead,” the England hooker said.
“The thing that excites me the most is how far we can take this team when you look at the age and cap demographic.
“It is a very, very exciting team.”
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