Jamie George graduated to the highest echelon of the game by starting for the British & Irish Lions against the All Blacks last weekend.
The 26-year-old Saracens hooker was handed the number two jersey as the Lions were beaten 30-15 by New Zealand at Eden Park, once again highlighting that he has yet to start a match for England.
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George, has so far struggled to oust his national team skipper Dylan Hartley and admits that, at first, he did hope that his Lions inclusion would impress England head coach Eddie Jones.
“I haven’t thought too much about the England stuff since I’ve been here,” said George.
“Yes, it’s a message but the stuff that Dylan’s doing is fantastic as well. They’ve just come off the back of a 2-0 series win in Argentina.
“When I was first selected for the squad, it was at the back of my mind, but I’ve started a lot of big games – European finals, Premiership finals – so I’m comfortable starting games.
“I definitely didn’t see myself as an understudy here.
“I certainly wanted to learn as much as I could from Rory [Best], in particular, someone who I’ve looked up to for a long time, and Ken [Owens] is in brilliant form at the minute.
“But as soon as I made the plane, I thought to myself: ‘I’ve got every chance’.”
