Six Nations: Jamie George inspired by Ben Stokes and 'Bazball' as England captaincy begins

Frank Lampard, Jos Buttler and Rory Best among George's other inspirations as he plots a new path, beginning in Rome
Nick Purewal2 February 2024

Jamie George will channel Ben Stokes’ 'Bazball' mindset to help England’s new recruits thrive in the Six Nations

New England captain George will lead out the Red Rose men for the first time as permanent skipper on Saturday, when Steve Borthwick’s side face Italy in Rome. 

Flanker Ethan Roots and centre Fraser Dingwall will both win their first caps in a new-look England lineup, with Chandler Cunningham-South, Fin Smith and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso also set for debuts off the bench.

Cricket and football fan George revealed the thrill of being followed by Frank Lampard on social media this week, while also receiving good luck messages from the likes of Jos Buttler. 

Saracens hooker George’s England captaincy will stand or fall on a ticket of unification, as the Red Rose men look to enter a new era of positivity and impetus. 

Head coach Borthwick might adopt a naturally risk-averse stance, but England’s players are ready to up the ante – and George wants to take a leaf out of the nation’s cricketing book. 

Coach Brendon McCullum has transformed England’s cricketing fortunes, in tandem with bullish skipper Stokes, by removing any and all fear of failure. 

Jamie George was appointed as the new England captain to succeed Owen Farrell
Getty Images

George knows England may never be able to rid all the pressure that comes with Test rugby’s intense territory, but the 33-year-old revealed that he is ready to try. 

“I got a follow on Instagram earlier this week from Frank Lampard, which was huge,” said George, adapting to the new attention that comes with being England captain. 

“I haven’t reached out yet, I want to play it cool for a couple of days! Obviously I followed him back instantly. 

“Jos Buttler reached out, I spoke to him briefly, which was great. Huge respect for what he’s achieved in the game, he’s a very successful captain himself. But mostly it’s been inside rugby. 

“Someone I loved speaking to and someone I respect massively who’s outside of the England environment was Rory Best. 

“He’s someone I respect massively and obviously a very successful captain, the way he went about it. 

“So I think we’ve got a huge amount of mutual respect, and he always said he’s in London a fair bit over the next couple of months, and I’ll definitely be picking his brains.” 

England’s pressure-cooker environments have stifled young players of the past, but no more, insists George, invoking those Bazball comparisons. 

“I’ve never met Ben Stokes but I’ve spoken to him briefly a couple of times,” said George. “I’m a cricket fan, and why would I not take inspiration from what Ben Stokes is doing with the England cricket team. 

“You look at the influence he has on young players, allowing them to go out and perform the way they do, creating an environment to allow that. 

“It’s exactly the model that we want. I’m not saying it’s going to be perfect, it’s never going to be perfect. 

“But at the same time, he’s someone I take a huge amount of inspiration from, along with a few others that I’ve worked with, more personally.

"Ben Stokes talks about being entertainers, we want to entertain people, of course we do, but we want to do it in the right way, we want to do it in the England way"

Jamie George

“It’s pretty well spoken about that I want that connection with the fans. 

“I want people to love coming to watch England play, for plenty of reasons, the result being one, how we play the game being another, then also the amount of fight and character that we show, the amount of pride and passion that we play with. 

“Ben Stokes talks about being entertainers, we want to entertain people, of course we do, but we want to do it in the right way, we want to do it in the England way. 

“And they’ve managed to find a way to do that with Bazball and all the rest. 

“So we will find our own way of doing it, and we’re very clear about the sort of team we want to be moving forward.”

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