A curious quirk of the Lions' game against the Maori was that Tadhg Furlong was the only non-Saracens man in the Lions' tight five, as happened again if only for a few minutes in the first Test.
He has packed down almost exclusively with the Saracens duo of hooker Jamie George and loosehead Mako Vunipola, and with either Maro Itoje or George Kruis in the secondrow, or sometimes both.
“I’m going to be speaking to his agent,” quipped George this week. “Formal negotiations going ahead. Looking forward to seeing him in black and red.”
George, of course, had held the record for accumulating the most Test caps without making a start at international level, having earned his previous 17 caps for England as a replacement.
“I think there’s been a lot said about me not starting a Test match before this tour but at the end of the day I’ve started a lot of big games for Saracens, European finals, Premiership finals, stuff like that and the time on the field for England over the last year has been quite high so I’m used to the intensity of it and I’ve enjoyed the added leadership of starting games that’s required. I’ve felt good and enjoyed starting the games.”
Indeed, so much so that he played the full 80 last Saturday, taking a great line and making the 69th minute break off Johnny Sexton's short pass which led to Conor Murray's try. George reveals that he came out to New Zealand fully believing that the number two jersey for the Tests was going to be a fair contest.
Opportunity
“As soon as I got on the plane really, the message from Gats was that he was going to pick the best players to beat the All Blacks so I knew that I had an opportunity to do that. I think the one thing that I needed to do was to be confident enough to show my leadership, especially in and around scrum time and I’ve built into that the more that the tour has gone on. I feel really comfortable doing that now and it’s very easy when you’ve got people like Alun Wyn and that around you, it’s pretty special.”
George paid special mention to the support of the Red Army, and has taken as much delight as the rest of the squad in the way they have serenaded the squad’s youngest player, Itoje, with his own chant.
“Yeah it’s pretty good! That was a bit surreal to be honest. I’m very happy for Maro, he loves it – I actually don’t think he does like it if I’m honest – but they get stuck into it so I’m pretty happy about it.
"The way that the Lions fans were last night is something that I'll never forget for the rest of my life. I had a lot of family in the stands and they were in floods of tears before the game based on the atmosphere and it made the occasion so much more special."
Whatever happens next Saturday, the Saracens hooker is unquestionably one of those who will return a more experienced and better player.
“I’ve taken a lot of confidence from the way that I’m playing. I’m learning a lot from the people around me; the likes of Tadhg and Alun Wyn. In the tight five it’s great playing alongside players like that. To be run around by Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton is pretty special.
“I’m really happy with the way I’m playing and I’m just going to try and keep my head down and keep working hard and really looking forward to Saturday now.”
Blemish
The biggest blemish on the Lions’ performance was the avoidable penalties which led to the 13-8 penalty count against them. “The thing is we’d addressed it in the week. The manner of these sort of games, you’re always going to be very eager and over-eager at times and if you look at the nature of the penalties – offsides and a lot of them at the breakdowns – are just being over-eager.
“Potentially there’s a lot to be said for being a bit more relaxed now we’ve got a win under our belts, and not chasing it. Maybe we’ll be aware of that and make a change.”
In this and much else as well, George believes the Lions can take a huge amount of confidence from last Saturday’s win in Wellington.
“You need to look at the manner in which we did it. We made it very difficult for ourselves at times with our discipline. I don’t think many teams can say they’ve come back from 18-9 down in those conditions to win the game so we’re really happy with that. Lots to move forward on now to try and build some momentum.
“It’s about taking it to another level now. We’ve managed to level the series but we know that the All Blacks will be hurting and will come back firing so we need to be able to take ourselves to a place we’ve never been before, mentally and physically and I think that stresses the importance of how big this week’s preparation is going to be.”
Immortality
This squad now have the chance to make history, by becoming only the second Lions team, and first since 1971, to beat the All Blacks in a Test series. Immortality beckons.
1971 repeat, immortality beckons?
“Ha, immortality!” he laughs. “We are fully aware of what’s at stake, we know the importance of Saturday was, getting ourselves back level, I think it’s going to be a fantastic occasion and one we will never forget.
“We can’t get carried away with the emotional side, we’ve got to make sure we are on it physically and emotionally, we’ve got to go into the game with clear heads and attack it. Sometimes you can maybe get overawed by the occasion and think about making history – but we can’t think about that.”
The only blight on George’s week is that his parents were flying home yesterday. “They are gutted. They were trying to change their flights, but they can’t make it. I am just saying my goodbyes now and they are a bit more teary again.”
The deduction was thus made that the Georges didn’t anticipate a series decider, and they’d hardly have been alone, but apparently not.
“I don’t think they expected me to play. They have to get back for work. I’m sure they’ll be here in spirit. I’ve still got my girlfriend and her family and my uncle and cousin are still here doing the camper van – they are having a great time.”
