Gregan returns to England feeling fine

George Gregan today rejoined the Wallabies camp preparing for a Twickenham showdown with England, and said: “I feel pretty good.”

Australia’s Test captain was delayed by three hours in completing a punishing 20,000 mile round-trip Down Under to attend the birth of his second child.

Gregan flew home following his team’s defeat against Ireland in Dublin last weekend, but is now back with the squad, although defying inevitable fatigue will surely prove a major task leading towards Saturday’s kick-off.

The 29-year-old was warmly greeted by his team-mates during a coaching session for pupils at Orleans Park School in Twickenham today.

“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I rested well on the plane, and I don’t feel jet-lagged, although I am sure that it will hit me tonight.

“Sleeping patterns are important, and the doctor gave me the right sort of tablets to take at the right time.

“Everything is great – I couldn’t be happier. I recall from the birth of my first child that it was a pretty special experience, and this was pretty special too.”

Wallabies coach Eddie Jones is confident that his 80 times-capped skipper can defy the stamina-sapping journey and shine in Saturday’s Test, a job which Gregan is now totally concentrated on.

“If it was anyone else, you would be worried, but George is the most professional of rugby players,” Jones said.

“He is a very good leader of the team, and he will be right to play on Saturday in what will be a really good challenge for us.”

Gregan added: ”From the beginning of this tour, I was always coming back. As captain of the team, it was important to come back and carry out my responsibilities as captain.

“The England game is a big game, and an important game for us.

“As a group of players, we have to step up and perform to our potential. It is going to be a game when we will have to perform to our best for the entire duration.

“Our defeat against Ireland at Lansdowne Road was disappointing – we didn’t perform to our potential, so we will be looking to rectify that this weekend.

“The conditions were tough, but we suffered from poor execution. We had chances, yet we let ourselves down in simple, basic areas.”

Jones will name his line-up for the England clash tomorrow, knowing he must make at least one change from Dublin.

Lock Justin Harrison, scourge of the Lions last year, is expected to replace Owen Finegan, who has flown home for extensive shoulder surgery, while Jeremy Paul could take over from hooker Adam Freier, who made his Test debut against Ireland.

“Jeremy probably did about 80% of our session yesterday, which was quite a vigorous work-out; Steve Larkham (fly-half) got through about 80% as well, while we will have a look at Mat Rogers again and David Lyons is definitely out of this week’s game,” Jones said.

Australia (possible): M Burke; W Sailor, S Mortlock, D Herbert, S Staniforth; S Larkham, G Gregan (capt); N Stiles, J Paul, P Noriega, J Harrison, D Giffin, M Cockbain, G Smith, T Kefu.