England Six Nations: Jamie George draws inspiration from men's cricket team to 'put smiles on fans' faces'

Rugby Union Daily: George inspired by Stokes' entertainers

Guinness Six Nations: Italy v England

Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome Date: Saturday, 3 February Kick-off: 14:15 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, live text on BBC Sport website and app, watch on ITV1.

England want to draw inspiration from the men's cricket team to "put smiles on fans' faces", says new captain Jamie George.

England's cricketers produced one of their best ever away wins to beat India on Sunday.

The 33-year-old admires their message to be "entertainers" and wants his side to do the same after only two wins from their past five games at home.

"I'm not saying we are going to go all out on attack," George told BBC Sport.

"But what I am saying is Ben Stokes talks a lot about expressing themselves and the fact that they are entertainers.

"Something at the forefront of our mind, especially at the minute, is how we can put smiles on people's faces, how we can bring Twickenham back to that fortress we want it to be."

Since taking charge of England, head coach Steve Borthwick has suffered a record home defeat by France and a first ever defeat by Fiji, which was also at Twickenham.

England travel to Italy on Saturday for their opening game of this year's Six Nations before their first game at Twickenham - since that Fiji defeat - against Wales on 10 February.

'It should be the best time of your career'

Hooker George was named England captain for the campaign in the absence of Saracens team-mate Owen Farrell.

Farrell, who will leave Saracens to join Racing 92 in July, has captained England since 2019 but ruled himself out of the tournament to prioritise his and his family's mental wellbeing.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) does not allow players based abroad to be selected for England, meaning George could likely be England's new long-term captain.

Despite playing under Farrell at both Saracens and England, George says he is "very comfortable" in the role.

"In terms of style, I am a people person. I care about relationships, I care about people loving their time playing for England," the 33-year-old said.

"I have been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride - some of the best times of my life have been playing for England, but I have had some difficult times while playing for England also.

"For me, and I said it to the boys, that was one of the first things I said, being in this environment and playing for England, should be the best time of your life, it should be the best time of your career.

"And I'm very passionate about making sure people are in a position to do that."

'Battle-hardened' England have an advantage

Borthwick insists England's "battle-hardened" players will give his side an advantage over their rivals in the Six Nations.

England's 36-man squad have comfortably played the highest number of minutes since their third-place finish at the World Cup. Per player they have registered over two hours of game time more than next highest France.

Six English teams have reached the knockout stage of the Investec Champions Cup and the Premiership, despite losing three teams from last season, is as competitive as it has ever been, with only seven points separating eighth and second.

"Generally I will try to look at the positive side and I have a group of players that are match-hardened. They are ready to go," Borthwick said.

"The other thing is the nature of the Premiership. All of the games are counting so the leverage of all these games is huge.

"And there have been teams fighting in Europe to get qualification, fighting to find a way to win which, again, is a real positive.

"Everything we're getting is saying all the clubs are running more than they were 12 months ago, so that's a real positive."

Sorry, we can't display this part of the article any more.

This selector has been updated following injuries. The readers' team will be revealed on Thursday when Borthwick names his side to face Italy.

Related topics