Jamie George hailed England’s late win over Ireland as a special day and a potential springboard to a better future. George said his side had been keen to respond to their disappointing defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield and believed they had now sent a clear message to all those who doubted them.
“This is probably one of the most exciting and proudest days of my career,” George said. “There were doubts raised after that performance in Scotland and that’s probably right but we weren’t listening to the noise internally. For us to be able to go out and do that against a team like Ireland, for me It’s a very special day to say Ireland are the best team in the world.”
George, whose mother recently passed away from cancer, has had a rollercoaster ride and admitted the final whistle was a sweet moment. “I was a bit emotional at the end because of everything that happened. I’m very proud of the players and how they performed. We talked a lot about how to make Twickenham a difficult place to play and I think we did that today. .
“Every time you play for England rugby and don’t win you get a tough rap from the police. It is what it is. What I’m most pleased about is how we came together and got clarity on how we need to move forward. I miss you today Saw a lot of improvement. We got a lot of criticism for our offense but not many teams can get three points against Ireland.”
Steve Borthwick praised the intensity shown by his team “from the first minute to the last minute” as they ended Ireland’s bid for a sixth consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam. “I think that’s going to be the hallmark of this team – the intensity with which they play,” the head coach said. “As a team, we’re going to improve, we’re going to get better. But fundamentally, it’s about putting yourself in situations where you have to find a way to win. That’s important, and the team did that again tonight.”
Both Borthwick and his counterpart Andy Farrell played down an apparent verbal exchange between the pair as they walked into the tunnel at half-time, with Farrell admitting England deserved the win. “Long story short, I think England deserve it, so congratulations to them,” Farrell said. “I thought they played really well. We have to dust ourselves off and learn our lessons as soon as possible. Getting the lads back on track next weekend won’t be a problem at all.”
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Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony also said England were worthy winners. “As an Ireland fan, I’m naturally disappointed, but it was a well-deserved win,” said the flanker, who spent 10 minutes in quarantine. “Credit to England. I thought they played really well and they disrupted us. Some of our discipline was poor but that’s down to them, they put the pressure on us.”
England will await the medical reports of Henry Slade, Ollie Cheatham and Chandler Cunningham-South before confirming their squad against France in Lyon next Saturday, but came on as substitutes and Danny Kyle, who won his 100th game, believes the team’s confidence has now grown. Transformed. “We let ourselves down in Scotland and this week we want to show the world what we have got. We believe in this team and what we are doing.”
