Ellis Genge primed to summon spirit of 2022 as he runs into Australia again
After naming Genge in Saturday's side, the head coach, Andy Farrell, encouraged the 30-year-old loosehead prop to take a moment to reflect on how far he has come. It does not come easily to Genge but his growing influence on the international sides he represents is obvious. He confesses that nine years ago he and Sinckler 'tried to get out of the way as much as we could' and 'were out enjoying ourselves a bit too much'. In 2022, England had lost the series opener to the Wallabies and Genge was wound up by perceived provocation from opponent Taniela Tupou but inspired as Jones's side levelled the series in Brisbane.
'I was in a good spot. If I can get to there again, I will be over the moon,' adds Genge. 'I played quite well. We were quite fired up as a team that week. Obviously we lost the first Test. I was vice-captain on that tour and felt quite a bit of responsibility. It feels quite numbing to get to that emotional state. The comedown you have after it is quite monumental. You don't sleep a wink. Fingers crossed I get there on Saturday.'
Farrell evidently believes he can. The head coach has told his players to embrace the expectation that comes with being heavy favourites and has challenged Genge to walk tall. 'Faz said in the meeting that you should have a swagger about yourself, you should be proud, you should take a second to think: 'You have done it,'' added Genge. 'That stuck with me a bit because I have rarely taken the opportunity to reflect on my career thus far. I felt that if you start doing that and looking back, you struggle to get out of second gear sometimes. I have not done it for a long time. All the messages flood in. The questions and the phone calls and you realise that it is a big deal.
'[It made me] a bit uncomfortable. I don't really like the praise too much. I don't like the conversations and the texts. I think you would be naive to say you were not unbelievably proud of what you have achieved thus far. But someone said to me at the beginning of this year that there is a difference between being a Lion and being a winning Test Lion. Hopefully we can make that happen.'
Genge has also been in touch with Jones recently with the former England head coach offering encouragement, particularly around his ball-carrying. It is his set-piece work that Genge believes has seen the most improvement of late, however, attributing a weight gain of 12kg to his progress.
'I texted Eddie the other day,' said Genge. 'He gave me feedback on my game straight away. He didn't even acknowledge what I said. I wouldn't have him any other way. The other boys are good carriers in their own right and I think it's probably a strength of mine, so instead of thinking about what to do with the ball I'm just taking it forward. I've done a reasonably good job of it so hopefully I can keep on doing it.
Sign up to The Breakdown
The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed
after newsletter promotion
'When you saw me burst on the scene at 21, I was 114-115 kilos and I could actually move quite fast. I was 126kg two days ago – so I'm heavier now and it's all downhill from here. I've gymmed a bit harder and taken my weights more seriously. I was probably one of the first crop of players who were quite explosive and athletic for a prop, but they are everywhere now, so you've almost got to double down on it.
'I've been taking my weights more seriously in the past 18 months, so I've got a bit stronger. I've definitely not got faster, I've got slower, but it's working in the set piece.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Stokes and openers put England on top against India
Fourth Rothesay Test, Emirates Old Trafford (day two of five)India 358: Sudharsan 61, Jaiswal 58, Pant 54; Stokes 5-72, Archer 3-73England 225-2: Duckett 94, Crawley 84England are 133 runs behindScorecard Ben Stokes' first five-wicket haul in eight years and a dizzying opening partnership gave England much the better of the second day of the fourth Test against India at Old Crawley and Ben Duckett flayed some wayward India bowling at a rate of more than five an over in their stand of 166, taking a huge chunk out of India's Crawley, his 84 on the ground he made his career-highlight 189 against Australia two years ago was a welcome contribution. Duckett, the premier opener in the world, crunched they fell in the space of two overs, Ollie Pope and Joe Root were able to take England to 225-2, 133 took three of the six India wickets to fall on Thursday to end with 5-72, while Jofra Archer continued his comeback with were superb with the ball, though they were partly held up by the bravery of Rishabh retired on day one with a suspected broken foot after being struck by Chris Woakes. In scenes of high drama, he hobbled down the stairs to resume his innings on 37 and nudged his way to 54 before Archer spectacularly uprooted his off is not keeping wicket and India are yet to confirm his injury. It seems likely he will bat in the second innings, when the tourists look set for a battle to stay in the series. Pant bravery fails to halt England surge This day had a bit of everything, helped by conditions that gave something to bowlers and batters were excellent and a little luckless with the ball, led by the rejuvenated Stokes. Pant's hobble down the dressing-room steps produced a moment of pure theatre, then the way the home openers climbed into the India bowling was freewheeling the end of it all, England have a platform from which they can win the series with a match to return was as remarkable as it was unexpected. After a scan overnight, he arrived at the ground in a protective boot. Still, he was seen in the dressing room wearing his whites and, when Shardul Thakur became the second wicket of the day to fall, Pant limped to the an understandable lack of foot movement, he faced 27 balls and even heaved Archer for six. India added 35 valuable runs while he was at the two teams have made more than India's 358 batting first in a Test on this ground and gone on to lose, so their total looked competitive until England tucked in.
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
I never lost faith in England and they can beat Spain in Euros final
Somehow, England have made it to the European Championship final again. It doesn't matter how – we are there. Although it was tough, but ultimately joyful, I felt we had more control over the semi-final against Italy, even though we went in 1-0 down at half-time. I was in Geneva as a fan, sitting in the stands with the players' families, and I don't think anyone around me was doubting we would get back into it. We did look flat and that could have been down to the exertions of the Sweden quarter-final last Thursday. This time, at least, we only needed one goal rather than two. It turned out to be an unbelievable night. Michelle Agyemang's Ghanaian surname literally means 'saviour of the nation' and she did exactly that –saving the team by scoring in the 96th minute to get them to extra-time. England had the momentum and Chloe Kelly's winner a minute before the dreaded penalty shoot-out, considering how bad the spot-kicks were last time, felt so, so good. I'm being a bit tongue in cheek but nobody wants the lottery of penalties. Now we can go and win the title again and become the first England team to win a major tournament back-to-back. I really didn't envisage anything other than us going and winning the semi. At no point did I doubt that would happen. Maybe that is my naive optimism but it has seemed to serve me well so far out here. Now, our opponents in the final are a different prospect. We know what Spain are very, very good at and it's pretty open and relatively simple to dissect how they can be got at too. We beat them earlier this year in the Nations League so we know we can do it – and that goes for any team the Lionesses face. That's not arrogant or bullish either, just factual. To stop the world champions, who better to have around to advise the coaching staff about the Barcelona core of this team than our former Barca players Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh? For us, it will be about balls in behind and the pace of our forwards. We have the pace to be able to get at Spain and especially centre-back and captain Irene Paredes. They have chinks in their armour at set-pieces. You want your substitutes to come on and make the sort of impact England's have so far and I don't think any of the players would choose starting a game over getting the end result, which is what Sarina Wiegman specialises in. Every player understands their job with England and whether that role changes for the final or not, they will accept their part in this team and absolutely go and do what's best for their country. Jess Carter came on very late against Italy after starting every match at the tournament before that and it was great to see her on the pitch after everything she had to endure in the week prior to the game, having revealed the racist abuse aimed at her on social media. Everyone is very much united and the Italy win demonstrated that. Yes, the super-subs are knocking on the door for starting spots but they really have carried out their role with great success. Sarina never changed her starting XI in 2022 when we won the tournament so why would you change something that is so well-rehearsed and understood by the players? She could be tempted to go with two up front, with Agyemang alongside Alessia Russo, although it is a rarity for the manager to change her starting XI in reality. More Trending It is crazy Sarina has now reached five successive major tournament finals as manager of either England or the Netherlands. What she does is create an environment off as well as on the pitch where players can thrive. There is never a doubt from her that England can get an outcome and for her, rightly, the result outweighs everything. That's not complacency – just real, real belief. They now need to show that, because we all know how difficult this is going to be if our never-say-die Lionesses are to make history. But we can do it again, we really can. Rachel Brown-Finnis will be part of the BBC's team covering the Euro 2025 final on Sunday MORE: Wild Nutrition is hosting its first ever London pop-up – here's why you don't want to miss it MORE: Donald Trump's Epstein files problem won't go away – what will he do next? MORE: Jeremy Corbyn confirms launch of new party – but people are confused already
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Woody Johnson completes purchase of Crystal Palace shares
Crystal Palace have confirmed that Woody Johnson's purchase of Eagle Football's shareholding in the club has been completed. American businessman Johnson – who is co-owner of the New York Jets – joins chairman Steve Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer as a partner and director of the Eagles, and has also signed the Premier League's Owners' Charter. 'I am honoured and privileged to be joining the ownership group of Crystal Palace Football Club,' Johnson told the Eagles website. 'It is an organisation with a proud history, tradition, and deep roots in English football in South London, which I came to admire during my time as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom. 'Eagles fans have demonstrated extraordinary loyalty, passion, and unwavering dedication and I am excited to meet and get to know them. 'I have great respect for Steve Parish and the leadership he has provided over the years. 'I look forward to working with him and the entire ownership group to build on the club's recent successes and help shape an exciting future for Crystal Palace. 'This is more than an investment – it's a commitment to realising the vision for the club, the community, and the culture around Selhurst Park.' Johnson's arrival at Palace comes with the club in dispute with UEFA over which European competition they will play in next season after winning the FA Cup in May. The Eagles were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after falling foul of UEFA's rules governing multi-club ownership, but have submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. UEFA determined that as of March 1, American businessman John Textor had control or influence in Palace and French club Lyon. Textor said he had agreed to sell his stake in Palace to Johnson, but the move came too late to satisfy UEFA. Parish said: 'At this exciting time for Crystal Palace, we are delighted to be welcoming Woody to the ownership of the football club, and we very much look forward to working alongside him to build on our historic recent success moving forwards.'
