JAMIE GEORGE wrapped an arm round pal Maro Itoje — before backing him to ignite England’s Six Nations bid following personal tragedy.
Skipper Itoje will arrive late to camp in Girona as he has been in Nigeria for the funeral of his mother Florence.
Florence – a regular at his games – passed away last month and the lock missed Saracens’ Prem clash with Newcastle on Saturday to be in Africa.
Itoje also sat out the Six Nations launch in Edinburgh, the city where, two years ago, then-captain George spoke about his anguish of losing his own mother.
But hooker George, who has shared three Six Nations titles and nine major Sarries trophies with Itoje, insists his mate will be ready for business come the opener against Wales on February 7.
George said: “The parallels are scary. It’s heartbreaking news.
“I know how much of a difficult time he’s going through but he’s been good. It’s been really impressive how he’s handled himself.
“My biggest message was to make sure he gives himself enough time to grieve and to process things.
“He is only going to come back when he’s fully ready to give everything to the squad and make the rest of his family very, very proud.
“We’re all determined to do that for him, too.”
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England boss Steve Borthwick was part of Eddie Jones’ coaching team when Itoje made his Test debut off the bench against Italy in 2016, and later landed their last Grand Slam that year.
It was Borthwick who axed George as captain ahead of last year’s Six Nations, installing Itoje in the job — and he has seen the lock lead the side to 11 straight wins after a hiccup in Ireland.
Borthwick added: “When I have talked to him, I sense emotionally he has found it very tough.
“In Nigeria this week, it is an important step for him and everyone close to him.
“He’s developed to be a really powerful captain. We look forward to having him back with us.”
The Six Nations kicks off a gruelling year for Borthwick’s men, who will have to go to South Africa, back to England to face Fiji and then head to Argentina in consecutive weeks in July for the new Nations Championship.
