England rugby captain Jamie George has stated the team is considering walking off the pitch if any players are subjected to racial abuse during their upcoming match against Argentina. The potential action comes after England replacements Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Chandler Cunningham-South experienced abuse during a game in San Juan last year.
World Rugby condemned the incident but was unable to identify the perpetrators. Following that match, the teams were involved in a heated exchange, with Argentina's coach labeling an England player a "bully." The prospect of a passionate atmosphere is heightened by the upcoming fixture, drawing parallels to a recent FIFA World Cup semi-final comeback inspired by Lionel Messi.
George, who will captain the side with Maro Itoje rested, emphasized that leaving the field is a considered option. "It's something being considered," George said. "If anything like that happened then it deserves the strongest of reactions. There is no place for that in the world and I feel incredibly strongly about that."
The team has held discussions about potential "what if?" scenarios. George expressed hope that the Argentinian Rugby Union has addressed the issue seriously and confirmed that a contingency plan is in place should abuse occur. "The first thing we'd do is make the referee aware of what we've seen so it can be properly logged and all the protocols can go into play. What we do outside of that we're still deciding."
George, 35, was present for last year's match in San Juan and recalled the incident. "It's something I will remember for the rest of my life when I heard what had happened – and it wasn't directed at me," he stated. "It was directed at my team-mates and I care about my team-mates more than anything. I will continue to have conversations with a select group of players from different ethnic backgrounds and we will come up with a plan."
England has a strong recent record against Argentina, having won nine of their last 10 encounters.