England are preparing for the ‘element of surprise’ this weekend, as they take on an Australian side set to unleash their new weapon for the first time. All eyes will be on rugby league convert Joseph Suaalii as he takes to the Allianz, having been named to start for the Wallabies by their head coach Joe Schmidt.
England captain Jamie George assessed the incoming obstacle, who is yet to play a professional match of rugby union. Suaalii played for the Sydney Roosters since 2021, and also made six caps for the Samoan rugby league team ahead of his code switch. The talented footballer has agreed a move to the New South Wales Waratahs ahead of the 2025 Super Rugby season, with George excited to show Suaalii what Test match rugby union is all about.
“I think what I’ll say on that, is that Joe Schmidt is someone that I’ve been a massive fan of I respect hugely in terms of his understanding, knowledge, all that kind of thing. I know that if he (Suaalii) wasn’t ready to play, then he wouldn’t be playing. So, that’s something that we’ve got to be very aware of. There’s this element of the unknown. But at the same time, you know, we’ve got to make sure we’re as clued up as we possibly can be, and make sure that he knows what test match rugby is all about.
“That’s always going to be the case when you play against (someone), whether you’ve played zero games or 100 games. And Test rugby, we’ve got to put our game plan, squeezing teams, all that kind of thing, and put teams under pressure. We’ll be looking to do that again.”
Whilst the England skipper is certainly aware of the threats that Suaalii is set to bring to the Allianz, the hooker is leaving the individual analysis to his outside backs. George explained how his predominant focus is ensuring England get the upper hand on the heavily stacked Australian pack, and will leave the likes of Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence, to find the key to stopping the former Sydney Rooster.
“So we haven’t done too much work on individuals, I think forwards wise. I’m sure that Sladey and the outside backs maybe have looked a little bit more. There are key carriers in any team, and we look at their general trends on, whether they use footwork or use their hands a bit more or little cues that we can get after.
“Once they name the team, then we will probably be looking at a little bit more of his league stuff, whether there’s any trend on that, what he likes to do, whether he likes to step off one foot or the other. But at the same time, there’s all this analysis that you can do. We pride ourselves on knowing our opposition, but equally, we’ve got to make sure that we’re just alive and we play with our heads up and play what’s in front of us.”
From one Australian to another, Eddie Jones has been at the forefront of England press conferences once again, after Danny Care’s book opened the door to the environment of the England camp throughout his reign. The former England scrum half expressed how Jones’ time in charge created quite a ‘toxic’ environment, that had sibilances of a ‘dictatorship’, in the Harlequins’ eyes.
Having gone through the years alongside Care, George understood where the halfback was coming from in his assessment. Whilst George did not outwardly give examples of how he had to deal with the former England head coach, the skipper did express how he has enjoyed success in a more welcoming environment.
“Everyone has their own experiences. I lived it with Danny at the time, I knew how he felt about it. Eddie was someone who never wanted to sit still, always wanted to get better, pushed people and it was challenging at times, of course it was, and I understand what Danny is saying.
“Equally what he said in his book is that Eddie was one of the best coaches he worked with and that runs true. Eddie did brilliant things for English rugby. We got to a World Cup final and we probably live with regret that we didn’t win that, a Grand Slam, a couple more Six Nations – that is the sign of a good coach to me. You have got to reflect on the good times and the bad.”
“Eddie was very clear in his ways and what I know is now we have got a much more inclusive environment in which we can challenge and accept and speak to all the members of staff and I guess it hasn’t always been that way.”
“I don’t think necessarily there is always a cost to winning. I don’t believe that. I have been part of teams that create really positive environments, Saracens being one of them. We have won some pretty big things and were very successful with a different way of viewing things and going about things. At the same time there is success both ways, it is dependent on the personnel at the time.”
Turning his attention back to the task at hand, and George is set to pack down against one of world rugby’s most formidable front rowers this weekend. Nicknamed the ‘Tongan Thor’, Taniela Tupou has garnered quite the reputation across both hemispheres, with George anticipating the challenge at hand from the 135kg tight-head. George backs his front row teammate Ellis Genge to rise up to the test, with the ‘Baby Rhino’ set to lock horns with the giant prop this Saturday.
“I reflect back to the last tour that we had there (2022) and it was Tupou and (Angus) Bell, both very good operators. Tupou is a big man, he’s heavy, but he’s also very, very powerful and he knows what he’s doing. And Bell on the other side is very experienced now and he’s played a lot of Tests.
“They’re a strong pack. Like I said all the time, it’s Test rugby, scrums are going to be challenging, but at the same time, you know, we’re a pack that definitely pride ourselves on what we do and we’re looking to make sure we deliver that.”
“Ellis is someone who is very proud of his work. I don’t necessarily even know whether he needs any headlines. Ellis is world class. He showed that on Saturday. We saw that’s he’s back to close to his best and when he’s like that, I wouldn’t want to be any tight head going up against him.”
Scanning further into the Wallabies game-plan, and George cast his attention towards the Australian’s line-out set-piece. Schmidt has employed the services of former England lock Geoff Parling to help orchestrate the Aussie arial threat, and George remembers how prolific the 29-capped lock was at dominating the sky in his own right.
““They’re good, they’re a well drilled line-out, and that’s no surprise, because Geoff is brilliant at what he does. He’s very, very clever. I played with him (for England) in 2015 and he ran the show then. And there’s no surprise, they come up with good plans, and they’ve got good aerial threat defensively, and come up with good plans in attack.”
Steve Borthwick has shuffled the England supporting staff this week, with Theo Dan not named as the replacement hooker to be deployed when George departs. Sale Sharks hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie got the call-up for the 16 shirt, and George highlighted how he is chomping at the bit to capitalise on the opportunity and make an impact off the bench for England.
“I couldn’t be happier for Luke. He has gone through so much over the last couple of years, and he’s like a puppy running around and screaming and shouting. It’s quite annoying at times, but we love him for it. That said, he is brilliant scrummager, he’s a brilliant operator. You know, not long ago was he was involved in all three tests on the (2021) Lions Tour, and rightly so, he’s a brilliant player.
“Now we’re looking at having three really quality… well, two, and me, really quality hookers who offer very different things. And Luke, scrummaging wise, brings a lot. His experience, I think, always adds a huge amount. When he gets the opportunity on Saturday, he’ll be flying around.”
