George Kruis control puts Saracens man in running for Six Nations squad
Kruis has been described as a ‘dead cert’ starter for England
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Saracens have won 12 matches out of 12 in all competitions this season and up to a dozen of their players, including second row George Kruis, are hoping for selection when the England head coach, Eddie Jones, announces his first Six Nations squad on 13 January.
The eight Premiership matches that will coincide with the Six Nations may yet knock Saracens from their stride but, after their record-breaking 26-6 win over a tame Leicester on Saturday, the league leaders are in witheringly good nick.
Steve Borthwick, Jones’ assistant in charge of England’s forwards and a former Saracens captain, was at Allianz Park to see Kruis at the heart of a first-half penalty try from a line-out drive, and two penalty tries from scrums in the second half. No team had put more than one penalty try past Leicester since the 10-times champions’ formation in 1880. Some of the Saracens line-out ploys were reminiscent of the Japan playbook formulated by Borthwick during the recent World Cup.
Kruis, 25, was a starting lock for England in four of last year’s Six Nations matches but played just twice from the bench in the World Cup, as back-up to Joe Launchbury and Geoff Parling. Described now by the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, as a “dead cert” to start for England, Kruis was keen to stress he enjoyed no nepotistic advantage from the handful of seasons he spent learning at Borthwick’s side.
“He was a mentor for me, definitely,” said Kruis. “[But] I wouldn’t want there to be favourites. If I do get selected I want it to be off my own bat and the hard work we put in at Saracens. We’ve got some awesome jumpers and guys who are very quick thinkers on the field – Schalk Brits and Jamie George. When you’ve got darts like that [being thrown at the line-out] it makes everything 10 times easier. I am playing my best rugby, but we’ve got seven or eight young English lads doing the same thing.”
Ed Slater’s immediate Six Nations chances look shot after the Leicester captain had his right knee medial ligaments damaged in a tackle.
Having suffered their second loss of the season, Leicester will be back at Welford Road to host Northampton on Saturday. The Saints will be missing injured England props Alex Corbisiero and Kieran Brookes, while it is unclear whether Manu Tuilagi will make his return to the Leicester midfield. But the hosts’ pack is likely to look very different, with Tom Youngs, Brendan O’Connor, Mike Fitzgerald and Opeti Fonua possibles to return.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments