Hat-trick hero Jamie George lauded the performance of England’s forwards, as the reigning Guinness Six Nations champions kicked off their Autumn Nations Cup campaign with a 40-0 win over Georgia.
Flanker Jack Willis capped a dream debut with the game’s opening score, before George went over twice in almost identical fashion by steering driving mauls over the whitewash.
Full-back Elliot Daly went over to secure the bonus point ahead of half-time, with George completing his trio of tries and Dan Robson dotting down after the break to secure an emphatic victory at Twickenham.
And despite entering the contest as clear favourites, Saracens star George – who became the first English hooker to notch a Test treble – was pleased with how the Red Rose dealt with the threat of Georgia’s power up front.
“It was a great team performance,” the 30-year-old said. “We were fully aware of the threat that Georgia pose up front and how much pride they take in their set piece, so the most pleasing thing for me is that we stepped up to the plate in the forwards.
“We always take a huge amount of pride in our set piece, we’re constantly trying to push it and it was great to get over the line.”
Having completed their victorious Guinness Six Nations campaign in Italy last month, England’s clash with Georgia marked their return to Rugby HQ for the first time in eight months, and captain Owen Farrell was similarly pleased with the side’s display.
After leapfrogging Ireland at the top of the Group A standings, England entertain the 2018 Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam champions next and Farrell is looking forward to getting going again after a convincing Round 1 victory.
He added: “It was tough conditions against tough opposition. When the weather’s like that it’s an open battle against Georgia, but I thought our forwards especially stood up to it today.
“There’s a lot of good stuff to take out of today, but we’ll look at it and see where we can be more clinical.
“Ireland’s another big game for us to look forward to. We’re extremely privileged to be playing at the minute and we’re excited to get back out on the field.”
