Jamie George full of pride in Lions return despite ‘midweek massive’ role

There are plenty of reasons to question the British & Irish Lions’ clash with a First Nations & Pasifika XV on Tuesday. To wonder what the point of it is, sandwiched between the first two Tests. That the Lions have shipped in five players specifically to keep their frontline stars wrapped in cotton wool suggests it is little more than an inconvenience to the tourists. Then you listen to Jamie George explain what it means to him to represent the Lions again and it immediately changes your perception. Bin juice has never tasted so good.

It took George 47 hours to make the journey from San Juan, not far from the Andes in Argentina, where he was preparing to represent England against the Pumas, to Brisbane to join up with the Lions before the first Test. Devastated at missing out on the initial squad, George jumped at the chance to come in as cover for Luke Cowan-Dickie, who is still recovering from concussion.

A flight to Buenos Aires was followed by another to Rio de Janeiro, another to Dubai and then on to Brisbane. “I gave the world a good lap,” he says, explaining that the gangster series Mobland and “some pretty horrific moves” including the Kevin Costner golf classic Tin Cup kept him busy while sticking to a strict sleep regime prescribed by the Lions.

George Jamie Osborne – cover for Garry Ringrose – as well as Thomas Clarkson, Darcy Graham, Ewan Ashman, Gregor Brown and Rory Sutherland all make the squad for Tuesday’s fixture, along with Blair Kinghorn who returns after a knee injury. Andy Farrell insists he is keeping an open mind when it comes to selection for the second Test but in reality only Kinghorn and Ringrose, who is on the bench, have a realistic shot at making the XV. Owen Farrell is captain and he could conceivably make the 23, as could George. On the whole, however, those selected are the dirt-trackers, the bin juice or the midweek massive.

Jamie George (centre) with Finn Baxter and Joe Heyes pose in the changing rooms after England’s win over Argentina in La Plata this month. Photograph: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images

For his part, George is determined to make the most of his second chance on his third Lions tour. A cancelled flight delayed the arrival of his father, Ian, whose presence in Melbourne gives the fixture extra meaning to George. He lost his mother, Jane, to cancer last year and George cites having his parents on the 2017 tour of New Zealand as one of his happiest memories.

“My old man is on the way,” said George. “Obviously it’s sad that my mum is not going to be able to be here but being able to do stuff like this for people like my old man, giving him the opportunity to travel around Australia, to watch his son play for the Lions. That’s the special bit about what I do and it’s my biggest motivation about why I do what I do.

“It’s emotional to be back out there because I never thought this opportunity was going to come, however many weeks ago the squad was announced and I was heartbroken and now I’ve got the opportunity to pull the jersey on again and it might be the last time, it might not be. But I’ll try to put my best foot forward and play like it’s the last time and when I do it like that I want to make people proud, I want to do the jersey proud and do everything I possibly can to win in a Lions jersey because I think international selection is one thing but winning as a Lions is different so that’s what I’m here to do.

“It’s absolutely about gathering momentum for the boys in the Test team and giving them confidence in terms of what they see from us. Of course it’s an amazing opportunity to put your name forward for Test selection. That’s the way that people have got to see it.”

Jamie George on the charge against Sharks in a Lions tour match in South Africa in 2021. Photograph: Themba Hadebe/AP

George is a huge cricket fan and so the significance of the Lions playing the second Test at the MCG is not lost on him. The 34-year-old hooker admits that attending a Boxing Day Test is “bucket list” and did not rule out leading a “sprinkler” celebration, as Graeme Swann did when England retained the Ashes in the 2010-11 contest in Melbourne.

“What a great shout that is,” he added. “I see myself as a sort of Graeme Swann figure. Similar characters, both talented blokes. It could happen, yeah, who knows. Bucket list stuff for me is watching the Boxing Day Test there. I’d be getting stuck in once I’ve retired. In the Barmy Army, 100%, I’d be in the mix, shirt off, I’d have anywhere between 15 and 20 pints. A tattoo of Joe Root on one arm, Ben Stokes on the other.

“How good is it going to be? 100,000 people at the MCG. I thought the atmosphere was good at the weekend but from experience it just goes like that [upwards] in the second and third Tests.”