Jamie George apologises for England humiliation and urges fans to keep faith

Jamie George has apologised for England’s dismal record defeat by France on Saturday and pleaded with supporters to keep faith in Steve Borthwick’s rebuild. England were booed off the pitch following their biggest loss at Twickenham, with George admitting he could relate to fans who left early in their droves.

England now face the daunting task of travelling to Dublin to face Ireland, who are chasing the grand slam, on Saturday amid fears of another thrashing. Borthwick, who lamented England’s lack of power against the physically dominant French, is set to announce on Monday his squad to prepare to face Ireland – with the Sale director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, confirming George Ford is due to be included.

The nature of the defeat – the third‑biggest England have endured – laid bare just how far Borthwick’s side are off the leading contenders for the World Cup this year. The boos that greeted the full-time whistle were reminiscent of those that followed Eddie Jones’s last match in charge in November with England now heading into the final weekend of the Six Nations out of the title race for the third year in a row.

“I want to apologise [to the supporters] because I’m one of them really,” George said. “I would be gutted if I’d turned up to Twickenham and seen an England team play like that. We are sorry and we need to make sure that we get better and learn from this experience, because it’s clear we have a long way to go.

“It’s tough to take that, because I can relate to that. I’m a fan myself and to hear that is really tough.

“We haven’t been good enough for the England fans for a little while now and I can relate to what they’re feeling, but what I’d like to say to them is please stick with us because we’re going to