Captain Fantastic

England captain JAMIE GEORGE has only been in the role since January. But after a whirlwind few months, he sat down exclusively with Rugby World to chat past, present and future

- JOSH GRAHAM

THIS YEAR has been quite something for Jamie George. The enormous high of being named England captain came on the very same January day as the gut-wrenching news that his mum Jane had lung cancer. And just ten days after she tragically passed in the middle of the Six Nations, he became a dad after welcoming a daughter with wife Katie.

"It was a lot at once," George tells RW.

"My mum passing away and then having our first baby all while being England captain in the Six Nations. It was very challenging as you can imagine. It was difficult. I've taken a lot of time in this off-season to try and process it all." Saracens boss Mark McCall constantly praises George's emotional intelligence and after taking a life-changing few months in his stride, it's easy to see why.

But while the focus has largely been on him in 2024, George's ability to relate with people is his super skill. He says: "One of the positives of me being a leader is my relationships with people and my understanding of people." Clearly that puts him in good stead when pulling together a rugby squad of diverse personalities and backgrounds made up of players from rival clubs, but it also translates into business. George is the co-founder of the The Carter & George Practice, the physio clinics he started with old school pal Rhys Carter.

Carter had been working out in Dubai when George visited and over a few beers one night, the concept was born.

George says: "I wanted to go into business. I had friends at Saracens who had set up their own business; Wolfpack Lager with Chris Wyles and AI Hargreaves, and Tiki Tonga coffee with Brad Barritt. These were guys I massively looked up to. Very clever and switched-on guys but I saw the positive impact an interest out of rugby had.