Jamie George has revealed he learned his mother had been diagnosed with cancer on the day he was named England captain, paying a strong tribute to her and vowing to continue his work following her death last week. So proud of her against Scotland.
George describes his mum Jane as the “biggest rugby fan on the planet” and explains England’s triumphs in the Six Nations opener against Wales and Italy, the only two Test matches she has missed due to illness . George said Jane was diagnosed about seven weeks ago, but he found out last Sunday that she had terminal lung cancer and died last Wednesday.
The 33-year-old hooker said he had questioned whether to accept the captaincy offer before discussing it with his family, but his first game as captain was “the proudest day of her life”. George also insists he wants to continue leading England against Scotland in memory of his mother rather than taking a break.
He said: “I found out about her cancer diagnosis on the same day I found out I was going to captain England, so it was a very complicated day. We’ve been through a lot as a family for a long time. It took a lot out of it. Put it in perspective.
“She’s the biggest rugby fan on the planet, she loves this team, she loves watching me play, she never misses a game. Text I got from her before the first game [as captain] It’s something I will always cherish. She said it was the proudest day of her life. Considering everything she’s been through, still being able to put a smile on her face is huge.
“[Playing on Saturday is] What my mom wanted. Wherever she is now, she will look down and tell everyone that her son is captain of England. I know this means a lot to her. Whenever I play, I always want to make my family proud. This was a huge motivation for me.
“That won’t change this weekend – it will probably be reinforced this weekend. It will be emotional for me to come out. It will be the first game she misses. She hasn’t been able to watch the first two games, which is tough in itself. But my dad [Ian] Coming soon, my uncle [Robbie] and brothers [Gareth and Jonathan].
“Those thoughts [of not playing] Gets into your head, but that’s not what she wants me to do – it’s actually the last thing she wants me to do. This is not what I want to do. I feel very privileged about what I do. It’s not an ideal situation, but I have no doubt I want to be in this game.
“We had some really scary conversations that no one wants to have, but I had some amazing conversations with my mom at the end. Things like that made everything clear.
“When I first became captain I talked a lot about what playing for England means to you and what an amazing impact you can have on people’s lives. I saw it first hand. My mum was talking about it on her deathbed England Rugby and how proud she is of me to be able to do what I do. It’s absolutely unbelievable. She will be with me in some capacity on Saturday which means a lot to me.”
George’s England side made five substitutions, with George Furbank a surprise selection at full-back, replacing Freddie Stewart, who had been left out of the matchday squad. Ollie Lawrence, Danny Care, Ellis Genji and Dan Cole also join the squad as George seeks to lead England to their first win over Scotland since 2020.
“For me, I want to put my heart and soul into it, it’s a great outlet for me, it’s what my mom wanted, it’s certainly what I want, and playing for this team has always been my The highlight of my life, and always has been. “Yes,” George said.
“Being captain of this team is definitely the highlight of my career and something she would have wanted me to put my heart and soul into. She talked about how proud she was of me. She was proud not only of what I had accomplished but how I had done it. Be proud, despite everything that has happened, that will not change at all.
“When you get on the field, when you step on the field, it’s actually a really good feeling to be able to forget everything that happened before. I want to win for her, I want to do everything I can to win in her memory, but I’m totally aware Scotland won’t allow us to do that. Whatever the outcome, I’m going to go out there and make her proud and I’m going to go out and make the other families in the stands proud.”
