Jamie George adamant Autumn Nations finale against France is NOT a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ after competition was branded a ‘FARCE’ with England’s opponents forced to release star players
- England face France in the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup final on Sunday
- France will be without several of their best players due to an unusual rule
- England hooker Jamie George insists the final is important for England to win
England hooker Jamie George says Sunday’s final against France is not the ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’.
The Autumn Nations Cup conclusion was branded a ‘farce’ after France were forced to release star players to their clubs due to a rule preventing certain players playing more than three times this autumn.
It could result in a mismatch in front of 2,000 fans at Twickenham, but George insists the players are desperate to end the campaign on a high.
England hooker Jamie George has insisted their upcoming final is not the ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’
Saracens forward George will start for England against France at Twickenham on Sunday
‘No one in this environment is calling it the Mickey Mouse Cup and that’s all that matters,’ said George.
‘The end goal of this campaign was to be in the position to win this trophy. It’s great exposure and experience for us to play in a final.
‘I’ve been lucky enough to win a few at Saracens. The more experience of finals rugby you have, the better you get at them. This time last year we played in a big final that didn’t go our way, hopefully it can be different this time around.’
Prop Mako Vunipola will miss out with injury and will be replaced by Leicester’s Ellis Genge
England yesterday made a late change to their line-up, with prop Ellis Genge replacing Mako Vunipola.
‘Mako has been struggling throughout the week and has barely trained,’ said George.
‘His Achilles is pretty sore. It’s a big loss missing a player of Mako’s calibre – but what an exciting prospect having Ellis step in – we won’t lose much in terms of energy.
‘Ellis deserves his chance as he has really stepped up this campaign.’