"Burst onto the Scene" - Jamie George reviews break-out Saracens wing Noah Caluori's first England camp

Caluori promptly gained the attention of England head coach Steve Borthwick, who called the 19-year-old up for his first senior England camp throughout the Autumn Series. Whilst Caluori will have to bide his time to make his England debut in the years to come, the wing carried his momentum forward for two appearances for England A, with his first international honours accrued against an All Blacks XV, and in a try-scoring effort against Spain.

The bolter certainly impressed Jamie George, with the Saracens teammate keeping Caluori under his watchful eye. George revealed how Caluori was 'eager to learn' throughout his opening stint at Pennyhill Park, with George praising the break-out talent for keeping a clear head amidst the media attention.

"I think the impressive thing about Noah, is that he is very level headed." George said, at the EPCR seaosn launch event in Teddington. "I think it is always going to be challenging in terms of the pressures that comes with bursting onto the scene like he has. There is a lot of media talk around him, he's got good people around him. The club have been very good and the outside backs spend a lot of time with him.

"I've put my arm around him a few times and just checked in with him. But, he's a sort of player that has, rightly so, burst onto the scene, but he's also the type of character that will go on and do good things, because he's level headed and he wants to learn. He's fully aware that he's not the finished product by any means, and he's got a lot of hard work [to do]. I think the thing that's impressed me the most is how he's got his head down and has been eager to learn."

George ran out for England in three Autumn Nations Series matches, with Allianz appearances made against Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. The Saracens man then took a back-seat for the final Test of November, as he dealt with a problematic hamstring injury that will keep him sidelined for a couple of weeks. Despite playing no part in the fourth week triumph over Argentina, George remained in the England camp to further his leadership role.

"Yeah, I had a chat with Steve [Borthwick] and he was keen for me to stay in, like, a leadership capacity. So that was really cool for me to do. I loved the previous three weeks, and I felt like I could still add, even though I wasn't necessarily on the field. I was trying to help out with some of the messaging throughout that week, and to be around the boys a little bit, which was fun."

Another Saracens star who had a barn-storming November series was Ben Earl, as the back row continued upon his meteoric form in the white jersey. A stand-out operator in England's four Autumn wins, Earl combined his efforts across number eight and out on the flank, with an opening round try also bagged against the Wallabies.

"He's a brilliant player, He brings a huge amount of energy to any team." George sung the praises of his club and country teammate. "He works hard and I'm really looking forward to seeing him back up those those England performances with Sarries this year. We're going to certainly need him if we want to do the things that we want to do this season. I mean, he's not a conventional size, a Tom Willis size, but, he always seems to get this side going forward.

"He does it in his own way, Ben's a unique player. He's also a unique character, by the way. He's different, he uses his footwork, but I think the way that the game is going now, I think the top end of the game is getting faster, and it's getting played at a lower level, in terms of height. Ben's not overly tall, but he's very fast and elusive, it lends itself to being good in the top level."

George was representing Saracens at the EPCR Investec Champions Cup season launch event yesterday, as the premier cross-continental club rugby competition gets underway next month. Saracens have been drawn into Pool 1, where they will face a fierce standard of opposition in Toulouse, Clermont, Sale, Glasgow Warriors and the Durban Sharks. George cast his mind to the task at hand, as the North London club sets up to make amends for some underwhelming recent campaigns in Europe.

The French clubs have ruled over the Champions Cup for the past five seasons, with the current defending champions being Union Bordeaux-Begles. The last time a PREM Rugby side won the coveted competition was Exeter Chiefs, who completed their league and European Cup double in 2020. Since then, Toulouse and La Rochelle have each claimed two titles, before Bordeaux won their inaugural star this past May.

Toulouse have won more Champions Cup titles than any club in history, with six stars now etched upon the heralded red jersey of the Top 14 giants. George was asked whether the tide is beginning to turn, after Northampton Saints flew the PREM Rugby flag to last season's final, and Bath won the EPCR Challenge Cup at the end of last season.

"There's got to be a little bit of luck on our side in terms of keeping people fit and generating a little bit of momentum going into the competition." George said, when asked what needs to go right for a strong European campaign.

"French rugby is in a brilliant spot at the minute, but I also think English rugby is in a really, really good spot. I think you look at the England team in the Autumn, and how many games [won] on the bounce it is, there's a real excitement about going back to the club and trying to achieve something.

"So, we're looking forward to seeing how the boys go over the next couple of weeks. I certainly think the English teams can challenge the French teams, and put them on their toes. Also, you've got to look at the South African teams and a couple of the other countries, who will be certainly putting their hands up."

"It's very challenging. What Bath did last year was very impressive, they've proven that it is possible. Bath have really great strength in depth and it's obviously a challenge for English clubs with cap restrictions. So, keeping people fit is a really important and challenging thing with regards to this competition. But at the same time, if you manage to get that right, as Bath have shown, there's no reason why you can't challenge."

George is a three-time winner of the Champions Cup, as Saracens ruled the European mountain top throughout much of the 2010s. George lifted the fabled silverware back in the 2016, 2017 and 2019 Finals.

"The history of the club is huge, some of the best days of my career have been in this competition. We have obviously not done so well in it over the last few years. We probably weren't in a position to do that, but, we feel like we're developing a squad, and we've got a lot of talent in the room. So, if we're able to keep fit and keep the squad strong, I think we're going to give ourselves a really good opportunity to go much further in the competition than we have done."

George's personal pick of the bunch from his Champions Cup memories, was Saracens 2016 triumph over RC Toulom. The Londoners went out to France for an unforgettable pool stage clash and brought home the spoils of a 31-23 victory to end Toulon's phenomenal home record in the Champions Cup.

"That was an amazing win, we were talking about it earlier with some of the other boys. It [Champions Cup] gives you the opportunity, as French rugby now is in a great place. There are some really difficult teams to play away, but if you manage to get a win away in France, they're the ones that you remember for a very long time.

"They [RC Toulon] hadn't lost at home in a long time, they were relative 'Galacticos' at the time with [Ma'a] Nonu and [Matt] Giteau, all those people. We'd lost to them some years before, in the final in 2014, it was a full circle moment. It was one of the times that we [Saracens] realised, that we were in the sort of place that we needed to be, in order to be successful in that competition."