Jamie George leads England into the Autumn Nations Series with George Kruis believing his business interest outside of rugby makes him a better captain.
The Saracens hooker, who wins his 94th cap against New Zealand this Saturday, is co-founder of Carter & George, a physiotherapy practice he started with long-time friend Rhys Carter.
Multi-tasker
For the past six years, George has combined playing with growing the business – adding a third Champions Cup and two Premiership titles to an already impressive career haul.
He has started 40 of England’s 52 Tests since playing in the 2019 World Cup final and been appointed skipper, the popular choice to succeed Owen Farrell at the start of the year.
Few understand the challenges of multi-tasking better than former team mate Kruis, who retired to start up wellness brand FourFive with former Wales lock Dom Day.
Kruis continues to work part-time with England as a line-out consultant and began the week in camp helping Steve Borthwick’s squad prepare for the All Blacks.
“Different things motivate different people at different stages,” he told Planet Rugby. “So the more people you get to speak to, the more different personalities you meet, the better.
“The more exposure you have to those sorts of scenarios, the greater understanding you get of what motivates people and the better your playbook of different tools to use.
“When you’re just stuck in a rugby environment sometimes it can be quite hard to get those different scenarios or meet those different people and figure out how they tick.
“Jamie not only has an impact on the field, he’s doing a phenomenal job off it. For people to see that the captain of England is also doing bits [outside rugby] to prepare for the future I think is highly inspiring and adds a different level of depth that’s not just all out rugby.”
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When Kruis, 34, hung up his boots after the 2019 World Cup he challenged himself to “replicate an international standard from rugby into business”. George, eight months his junior, is no different.
“Fundamentally, you need to stay on top of quality,” George says of both his day job and the one he turns to when he gets off the training field.
“When I come home from training I’ve got to switch that off and put my business hat on, do a couple of hours a day. Our strapline [at C&G] is delivering the same level of elite care that I get as a professional sportsman to the general public.”
George told Funding Circle that starting up a business was more nerve-wracking than playing in a World Cup final. “You get so many setbacks along the way,” he said.
“But, ultimately, if you truly believe in what you’re going to do, you know that it’s going to be successful, then you keep trusting that.”
He is very much at that point with the national team: four wins and four losses from his eight matches as captain, the jury out on England’s progress.
“We are building something here,” George insists. “There is no ceiling to how good this team can be.”
“Captain material”
Kruis graduated with George from Saracens’ famous academy class of 2008, which also boasted Owen Farrell, and loves the energy his old mate brings to the role.
He is convinced the hooker can turn around a team which has failed to win any of its last five matches against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa and is without a Six Nations crown since 2020.
“Jamie has always been captain material,” says the 45-times capped lock. “He’s got an incredible way with people, he understands people and can come at it from a softer side to get the best out of them.
“Don’t get me wrong, he can also fire up as well. He’s got a good balance. He has the respect of people. It also helps that he’s a pretty good player.”
As for his own role Kruis insists he is “just a tiny cog” in the England machine but says his continued involvement helped greatly in weaning himself off day-to-day rugby life which had been all he knew since joining Saracens in 2008.
“It softened the straight-out-of-rugby blow,” he says. “It’s been a really good halfway house, given me a nice balance.”
Battle from rugby to civilian life
Kruis has read a lot recently from players who have struggled with the transition from rugby to civilian life. All Blacks great Dan Carter and Harlequins fly-half Will Edwards, to name but two, spoke openly and honestly to Planet Rugby about the challenges and hardships they encountered.
“For me it was definitely a risk,” admits Kruis, who announced his retirement on his 32nd birthday. “From an experience perspective as a second row, at 31 or 32 you are in that peak position.
“When you build a bank of experience in a certain area, I guess there’s a part of retiring that is a bit sad if you just give it straight up.
“There have been points in the last few years where there haven’t been lots of second rows on the market, so definitely it was a decision I had to properly think about.
“But a professional sporting career, brilliant though it is, comes with heaps of sacrifices, things you can’t do. A lot of my mates have found it relieving almost, finishing up. A lot have found incredible jobs and are super happy.
“From my point of view, no-one is tackling me around the office, which is a good start.”
Kruis feels he has a new lease of life and can sometimes now be found on the high street observing shoppers and their shopping habits.
“Sounds a bit creepy,” he laughs. “But it’s important for us to have an understanding of why someone picks, say, one brand of hydration tablet over another; to ask how and why they came to that selection.
“And it is nice when you do see someone pick your product. For me it justifies that decision to finish up a bit early and not take the, initially, easier pay cheque.”
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