England captain Jamie George has given his players a simple message ahead of their Guinness Six Nations clash with France – do not believe the hype.
England travel to Lyon on Saturday with an outside chance of snatching the title from Irish hands having stunned Andy Farrell’s favourites 23-22 in round four through a last-gasp Marcus Smith drop goal.
It was their finest performance since routing New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, but that seismic victory was followed by crushing final defeat to South Africa week later.
Seeing the potential parallels for the last two rounds of their Six Nations, George and head coach Steve Borthwick have taken steps to ensure England are not seduced by the acclaim that greeted their statement win against Ireland.
“We believed the hype in 2019, we kept living it for three or four days afterwards,” George said.
“You’re in a World Cup final week and I had every distraction under the sun. People wanting to come over, thousands of people asking you for tickets, people from school coming out the woodwork who I hadn’t spoken to for 10 years.
“It’s great but it can be really distracting and I probably learnt that the hard way. We definitely got it wrong in 2019.
“You could see it in our energy and our life. Often you can see it in your work off the ball.
“It’s a World Cup final so you think you’re going to be absolutely buzzing. I was buzzing mentally, it was almost a situation that I was trying to convince myself that I was buzzing rather than having anything in my legs to be able to go and do it.
“We didn’t reach the highs of the week before and what I learnt is that you need to be able to give yourself the space to get away from things and reflect. Do what you’ve got to do.
“Steve was very conscious about it. It was one of the first things I spoke to him about when we met up again last Sunday and he was already all over it.
“Not many teams come to France and win. We haven’t done that since 2016. We’re very aware of that.
“We achieved something special last weekend, everyone felt that, but being able to back it up is a huge motivation for me. Good teams react well to setbacks, great teams make sure they back it up.”
England’s 2003 World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson has revealed that ‘Le Crunch’ was his favourite rivalry and the fixture also gets George’s competitive juices flowing.
“I love it. I really respect how they see the game,” the Saracens hooker said.
“For me as a front-row forward going into this fixture I know exactly what is coming – it’s a physical battle, the confrontational element of it.
“There’s a line in the sand, it’s me versus you. What a great opportunity that is. I’ve loved playing French teams throughout my career, not just at international level but at club.
“There’s a consistency with how they judge the game and I’d agree with Martin in that respect – this is a game that is as big a rivalry as there is.”
I would have asked to bat in top four on debut, says England's Bethell
Jacob Bethell said that he would have asked to bat up the order on his Test debut had he not received a "surprise" invitation to do so by England against New Zealand.
Bethell scored an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls after coming in at number three and also hit the winning runs as the tourists posted an eight-wicket win in the first Test in Christchurch.
"I would have asked for it to be honest," Bethell told BBC Sport.
"I like batting up the order so I was really happy that opportunity arose. I've always wanted to bat in the top four, so three is perfect," added Bethell, who had not battled above number four in his first-class career where he has an average of 25.44 from 30 innings.
The 21-year-old was called up to the England squad as a batting cover, but found himself in the line-up after an injury to wicketkeeper Jordan Cox.
Bethell was dismissed for 10 in his first Test innings, but produced a quick half-century in the second as England chased down the 104-run target set by New Zealand with ease.
"It's everything I've dreamed of," said Bethell, who hit eight fours and a six during his knock.
"It lived up to expectations. It was so fun."
But Bethell will have his work cut out to keep his number three spot with Ollie Pope, who moved down the order due to workload management after wicketkeeping duties, being the regular for England in that position.
"It was my first experience playing in front of packed grass banks, pristine outfield, good pitches and playing against a good team, so it was great," Bethell said.
"To come out in the second innings and have a chance to walk off with an England win was at the forefront of my mind and luckily I was able to do that."
Born in Barbados, Bethell moved to England at the age of 13 and made his T20 and ODI debuts against Australia in September.
He has scored three scores of 50 or more in 15 limited-over appearances for England so far, earning him a contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League worth about £245,000.
The second Test of the three-match series will begin in Wellington on Thursday.
I would've asked to bat in top four on debut, says England's Bethell
Jacob Bethell said that he would have asked to bat up the order on his Test debut had he not received a "surprise" invitation to do so by England against New Zealand.
Bethell scored an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls after coming in at number three and also hit the winning runs as the tourists posted an eight-wicket win in the first Test in Christchurch.
"I would have asked for it to be honest," Bethell told BBC Sport.
"I like batting up the order so I was really happy that opportunity arose. I've always wanted to bat in the top four, so three is perfect," added Bethell, who had not battled above number four in his first-class career where he has an average of 25.44 from 30 innings.
The 21-year-old was called up to the England squad as a batting cover, but found himself in the line-up after an injury to wicketkeeper Jordan Cox.
Bethell was dismissed for 10 in his first Test innings, but produced a quick half-century in the second as England chased down the 104-run target set by New Zealand with ease.
"It's everything I've dreamed of," said Bethell, who hit eight fours and a six during his knock.
"It lived up to expectations. It was so fun."
But Bethell will have his work cut out to keep his number three spot with Ollie Pope, who moved down the order due to workload management after wicketkeeping duties, being the regular for England in that position.
"It was my first experience playing in front of packed grass banks, pristine outfield, good pitches and playing against a good team, so it was great," Bethell said.
"To come out in the second innings and have a chance to walk off with an England win was at the forefront of my mind and luckily I was able to do that."
Born in Barbados, Bethell moved to England at the age of 13 and made his T20 and ODI debuts against Australia in September.
He has scored three scores of 50 or more in 15 limited-over appearances for England so far, earning him a contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League worth about £245,000.
The second Test of the three-match series will begin in Wellington on Thursday.
England captain Stokes confident in fitness ahead of second New Zealand Test
England captain Ben Stokes allayed fears over his fitness despite an injury scare on Sunday.
Stokes' side claimed an eight-wicket win over New Zealand in Christchurch, with Brydon Carse taking six wickets in the second innings.
But while Carse starred, becoming the first England seamer since Ryan Sidebottom in 2008 to take 10 wickets in an away Test match, Stokes was forced to abandon a bowling spell midway through his fifth over.
However, the England skipper claimed he was merely managing his body, and he is confident of being fit to feature in the second Test, which starts on Friday in Wellington.
He said: "I've not spent that much time out in the middle for a long time.
"It's been a pretty heavy week this week: a lot of time in the field, bowled 20 overs, and then spent some time out in the middle.
"I hurt my back diving for a ball as well.
"It's more management than anything else: with where we were in the game, it didn't feel necessary to eke out any more balls than I needed to. I think the body is going to be good for this outing, and I'm raring to go for Wellington."
Stokes also had special praise for Carse.
"I've been fortunate enough to grow up with Brydon [Carse] in my Durham days and I've always known his potential and his talent," Stokes added.
"So to see him come into this team and make an impact so early on is amazing. He's an absolute workhorse and he'll keep charging in all day regardless of whether conditions are in his favour or not.
"To see him get his rewards, walking off with six-for and 10 in the game is amazing."
It was a humbling defeat for hosts New Zealand, who were left to rue some sloppy fielding. Captain Tom Latham, though, was not too downcast.
He said: "Isolate the first two innings, that sort of surface, the position we were in, I was happy.
"We had our opportunities, on another day the catches go to hand and it would've been slightly different. That’s the sport we play.
"Some days it doesn't fall your way. From our point of view, guys aren't meaning to drop them, they are trying. Some days they catch them, other days it drops, that's the game of cricket."
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