England's Jamie George excited to join The Lions again
It meant that despite being completely fit for a game in which he had been selected, instead George had a watching brief as England completed an impressive 2-0 series victory over Los Pumas, courtesy of a last-gasp Jack van Poortvliet try in a 22-17 success.
A proud moment for @J_George2 as he's called up for his third @lionsofficial Tour 🦁@o2 | #WearTheRose pic.twitter.com/5O7sHouOfF
And while he would have given anything to be out there with the young England squad that he has relished leading over the past month, the prospect of representing the Lions for a third time after his experiences in 2017 and 2021 meant he was able to accept Andy Farrell's request that he not play for England as initially planned.
He explained: 'I prepared like normal for the Test match. I woke up to a few messages asking if I'd seen that Luke had picked up a knock.
'At that stage, I didn't really think too much of it because we had a huge second Test out here in Argentina to play. Then I spoke to both Steve (Borthwick) and Andy and they said that I had to withdraw from the game and be on the next flight out of here. It's pretty surreal.
'The initial conversation was about whether I could play (against Argentina). He (Farrell) also said 'huge congratulations' and what an amazing opportunity I've got on my hands in the next few weeks. I want to go out there and contribute as much as I possibly can and soak it all in because they are very special.
'I've got some journey on my hands. I've put my iPad on charge! I'll get some things downloaded. It's an exciting journey, I'd swim there if I had to because that is how special it is.'
George will fly with the England team from San Juan to Buenos Aires. Then when they head to Washington DC for the final game of their tour against the USA, he will fly to Dubai and then onto Brisbane where he will meet up with the Lions ahead of the first Test against the Wallabies.
Arriving on Tuesday, George should be able to join the Lions in training on Thursday, their final session before the first Test in Brisbane.
While he had initially missed out on selection, George did spend time training with the team in Portugal ahead of their opening fixture against Argentina and in typical fashion, he will look to use that time to ensure he is ready to hit the ground running Down Under.
He added: 'I haven't been sent anything already. I've still got all my notes from the initial time, I'm the sort of bloke that writes a lot of stuff down.
'I'll be looking back at those on the plane, I'll have enough time to do that. I pride myself on being as diligent as I possibly can be with my prep so I'll be up to speed and ready to go.'
While Ireland duo Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher are in pole position to feature in the first Test against the Wallabies, there is precedent for players to arrive late on Lions tours before making crucial contributions.
Among them is Alex Corbisiero, called up mid-tour 12 years ago in Australia before scoring the opening try of the decider against the Wallabies.
George could yet be that person this time around, and he departs the England squad with the blessing of Steve Borthwick, even if his late withdrawal from the squad could have been a major disruption.
Borthwick said: 'I had a chat with Andy, spoke to Jamie, who said he still wanted to play. I told him to give Andy a call and Andy said he didn't want him to play which was quite understandable.
'Jamie's words were 'I want to play tonight, I really want to play. I want to finish this part of the trip'. I had incredible respect for Jamie before, I now have even more.'
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