Jamie George opens up on the heartache of losing his mum during the Six Nations – and reveals he was told he was the new England captain
Jamie George has opened up about the personal turmoil of losing his mother, Jane, to lung cancer – revealing that she implored him to take on the England captaincy despite her medical plight.
After landing in Edinburgh Friday night, the 33-year-old Saracens hooker stated that he was offered the opportunity to represent his country on the same day that he heard heartbreaking news about his family. “My mother has had cancer for the past six or seven weeks,” George remarked.
It was a somewhat difficult day for me since I learned of her cancer diagnosis on the same day I was named England captain.
As a family, we have endured a great deal for a very long time. Her decline happened quite quickly. She was terminally ill, and last Wednesday she passed away, as I learned on Sunday. It’s been quite difficult.
In the circumstances, George was uncertain about whether to take on the captaincy, but he was left in no doubt that it was dying mother’s wish.
‘I was saying I was not sure if it was the right thing or not but she he was distraught,’ he said. ‘She was like, “You can’t not take this because of me”.’
Now, George will take on Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday hell-bent on honouring his mother with a fitting Six Nations performance and result, adding: ‘Of course, I’m going to use motivation, I want to win for her and I want to win in her memory.’
