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‘Looks delicious… could’ve lit the candle though!’ says Jamie George, noticing the miniature cake waiting for him on a table at Pennyhill Park.
Sitting down for an interview on the day of his 35th birthday last week, the England hooker soon realises the candle is made of white chocolate.
‘Nice touch,’ he adds. ‘Normally in camp you get to pick someone to sing Happy Birthday to you but that hasn’t happened yet. Maybe they find it awkward because I’m a bit older!’
George is used to celebrating with his England team-mates. He has been part of the set-up for more than a decade but he is still holding out for his biggest birthday wish.
‘I started with England when I was 24 and I’m now 35,’ George tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘I love it. My role has changed during that time but it’s a really exciting time to be involved. When you take me out of it, the age demographic is brilliant. There are some special players and the coaches are setting up a really good environment.
‘As a 35-year-old, a lot of people would say you just cling on. But you’re only as old as you allow your head to think you are. I still feel really good physically. I still feel like there’s plenty for me to get after and contribute here. If I didn’t feel like that, I would have retired by now. I love coming in.’
‘I started with England when I was 24 and I’m now 35,’ hooker Jamie George says. ‘I love it. It’s a really exciting time to be involved'
Having finished second and third, George wants to bow out a World Cup winner with England
And his rugby wish? That was outlined when Steve Borthwick gathered his players for their opening meeting ahead of the autumn series: win the World Cup.
Many of Borthwick’s 36-man squad should be in their prime by 2027. Over the next four weeks, they are hoping to bank victories to ensure they are a top seed when pools are drawn in December.
‘It’s a two-year cycle now,’ says George. ‘You have the Lions cycle and then you have the World Cup cycle. There are no elephants in the room with Steve. He puts everything out there. The big thing for us this autumn is getting four wins to put us in the best place to be seeded for the World Cup draw.
'He’s said we need to be successful this autumn to give ourselves the best chance of getting the best draw because everything we’re doing is to win the World Cup.
‘Why would you shy away from it? That’s exactly what we’re here to do. As an England fan, do you want us to just say, “We’re focused on getting better every day?” Of course we want to get better every day, but there are short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. The end goal is to win the World Cup. At the last two World Cups, we’ve come second and third. We want to go one better.
'We are good in those knockout, play-off situations, so what can we do over the next period of time to put ourselves in the best position to win a World Cup? I don’t see why we should shy away from that.’
Winning the World Cup is the one thing George has not achieved in his decorated career. He has won every trophy as a one-club man with Saracens and negotiations are underway to extend his contract which expires at the end of the season.
He has been approached by R360 about joining their breakaway competition but turned them down when he realised it would bring a premature end to his Test career.
George (centre) rallies the troops at Twickenham. 'Playing for England is the pinnacle,' he says. 'Some of the proudest moments of my life have been representing this country'
'For me to finish at a World Cup would be really special. That’s where my head’s at with it'
‘I had contact from R360 but the second it was made clear that you wouldn’t be able to play for England then that’s the end of that conversation,’ he explains.
‘Playing for England is the pinnacle. Some of the proudest moments of my life have been representing this country and I’m so, so proud to do it. That’s as far as that conversation went. I won’t be going to Bordeaux! I will be sticking around.
‘I’m working out the logistics of how that looks. I’m in negotiations with Saracens and England to make sure that I’m still around for that because it’s all I want to do. It’s everything for me.
‘For England, I’d love to go to the next World Cup. I’m really driven to do that. I’m not sure there will be too much rugby for me beyond that. For me to finish at a World Cup would be really special. That’s where my head’s at with it.
'The nitty gritty details with contracts is still a little bit up in the air. I’ve obviously had conversations with Steve and he seems to be pretty optimistic about that. There are ongoing conversations with Saracens so I’m hoping to get all that together pretty soon.’
Saracens gave George an extended summer break so his body could recover for the demands of the international game. He changed his diet and training regime during the off-season to put himself in the strongest position for selection.
‘I’m the lightest I’ve been since I left school. The way I see the game going, it’s getting quicker, it’s being played at a lower height, it’s a lot more intense.
'Losing a bit of that weight will give me the best chance to have as much influence.’
'I’m the lightest I’ve been since I left school,' George says. 'The way I see the game going, it’s getting quicker, it’s being played at a lower height, it’s a lot more intense'
George lost the captaincy to Maro Itoje (centre) but has no gripes about the decision
George co-captained England on their summer tour of Argentina, before he was drafted into Andy Farrell’s Lions squad. He is a statesman of English rugby, offering bundles of positivity and experience, although his matchday role has been squeezed since Maro Itoje took over as captain.
Luke Cowan-Dickie is tipped to wear the No 2 jersey against the Wallabies on Saturday, meaning George is likely to add his steady hand from the bench.
‘Of course your role changes when you’re not captain of the team,’ he says. ‘I can focus on myself a little bit more, be a bit more present day to day. When I first got the captaincy, I had been in a leadership position in the team for a little while. I loved all the additional stuff, I loved the influence you could have on the messaging, using your role to reach a wider audience. I genuinely think we did that over that 12-month period and I’m really proud of that.
‘The results could have gone either way. We had a lot of really tight losses that could very easily have been really successful wins. The growth of the team and the connection with the fans was a really positive step.
‘It was probably the right decision for Maro to come in and take on the captaincy. You look at what he’s done and how good a captain he is. Maro will be pulling on myself and George Ford and guys like that in the same way that I was pulling on him. My role as a leader in this team is something I cared about as captain and it’s something I still care about now.
‘I’ve had positive and negative experiences of playing with England and I do think it should be the best time of your life. I’m very passionate about that being the case for Emeka Ilione, Noah Caluori and the other younger players. It can be really daunting but I want them to enjoy it.’
George has a front-row seat for Caluori’s remarkable rise. They are team-mates for club and country and, in all of his years in both set-ups, George has rarely been so excited about a breakthrough talent.
‘Noah's special,’ he says. ‘I was already here in camp on the physio bed and it comes up on my phone: “Ding! Noah Caluori’s been added to the WhatsApp group”. I was like, “Of course he has!”
George has been shocked at how good his Saracens and now England team-mate Noah Caluori is and tips him for great things
George thinks it's right that England are open and honest about their World Cup ambitions
George has no interest in playing in the R360 breakaway league while he is still able to play for England
‘Very few times have I been shocked by talent on a rugby field. I remember seeing it against Israel Folau, thinking “That’s special”. Noah’s freakish. It’s scary how good he can be.
‘He’s by no means the perfect player but how could he be at 19? His physical capabilities and his aerial skills are very like Folau's. He climbs all over people. He jumps like an AFL or NBA player. It was shocking for me to see.
‘What's really impressive is that the bloke’s 19. The bravery it takes to go and back yourself the way that he did in his first Premiership start… When I made my debut as a teenager, I was just thinking, “I hope this goes all right”. He’s gone and won us a game almost single-handedly. It’s very easy to get carried away but what we can get carried away with is the incredible potential that he has. He’s a good kid at the right club who are going to nurture him the right way.’
Hopefully George is on hand to nurture him for a couple more years. The hooker has been one of the most popular England players of his generation. Bowing out as a World Cup winner in 2027 would be the perfect ending.
