5. GEORGE MARTIN IS WORLD CLASS UPON HIS RETURN TO THE STARTING XV
George Martin was amongst England’s top performers in the win over Ireland, and was a definite contender for the Player of the Match Award behind eventual winner Ben Earl. After retuning to England duties off the bench against Scotland, Martin started from the off against the Irish, and put in a barn-storming performance with relentless tackling.
JAMIE GEORGE: ‘Oomph’ is a lovely word – and George Martin is that in a nutshell. We were very clear around how Ireland are a fantastic team, how they make a mess of the breakdown and how their set piece is strong. I think you’ve seen that not just in this year’s Six Nations but in the World Cup and previous to that.
“We had a great plan, line-out gurus had a great plan around what we wanted to get after, and we scrummed well. Whenever you play Ireland, there is an increased focus on being tight and assured at the breakdown and I thought we were that.
“The way George Martin came into the team, having not played a huge amount of rugby over the last few weeks, and belted people, he led the way in that respect. He’s a man of few words but, when he goes out there and performs like that, he’s a real leader in this team.”