Prior to the Six Nations, Jamie George was named the new captain of England, with head coach Steve Borthwick taking a cue from Burnley manager Vincent Kompany.
Steve Borthwick has disclosed that he named Jamie George as the captain of the England rugby squad after receiving an idea from Burnley manager Vincent Kompany.
Following the confirmation of the Six Nations lineup on Wednesday morning, the Saracens hooker was named as the team’s leader. George will fill the vacuum left by Owen Farrell, who decided not to continue serving abroad.
Early in his coaching career, Kompany guided Burnley to promotion, and as a player, he led Manchester City to multiple awards. His leadership has been praised for a long time, and he advised the England head coach to use a questionnaire to find out which player in his team stood out.
Borthwick disclosed: “We conducted this investigation before the World Cup. We’re going to try something similar again soon. To put it another way, it was a network analysis. It was Vincent Kompany who came up with the notion.
“You basically give the players a series of questions, about the top three players you turn to in these situations. What it effectively produces is a network of how everybody connects, and who connects with who the most, in different elements; in tactical elements, high-pressure circumstances, off the field, you connect with different people.
“So I had this incredible amount of information, and it said, ‘I know where people turn’. And the number of people who connected with Jamie George is immense. His ability, across the whole squad, to understand people, I knew it was very good. That stood out to me as being exceptional.
“So I think he’s a great people-person. He’s got a positive nature. There’s always a smile very close in the way he is. And I want him to bring all of that into this role as the captain.”
George has been regarded as one of England’s leaders for some time but will now take on the main role as the Red Rose look to make a positive impact in the Six Nations following several campaigns in which they’ve underwhelmed.
Regarding his new position, he stated: “I enthusiastically and gratefully accepted Steve’s request last week to serve as captain for the forthcoming Six Nations. I think I’m at a point in my career where I can fully commit to being the captain and performing at my highest level on the field.”
England takes on Italy in Rome to start the competition. Along with hosting Wales and the reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland, they will also visit Scotland and France.
