July 10 (Reuters) - England captain Jamie George is excited for the potential debut of teenage wing Noah Caluori against Fiji in their Nations Championship fixture in Liverpool on Saturday, hailing the 19-year-old as a special talent.
Born in London to a Swiss father and Nigerian mother, the athletic Caluori is set to come off the bench in what is a must-win game for England coach Steve Borthwick after five defeats in a row, the latest a 45-21 loss to South Africa in Johannesburg last weekend.
George says the calm Caluori is taking it all in his stride, but can have a major impact with his aerial ability.
"'Air Caluori' is a special, special talent and I’m buzzing for him," George told reporters on Friday ahead of the game at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.
"He bought himself a VR (virtual reality) headset with his first pay cheque and that’s all he has been doing this week. He’s probably more focused on that than the fact he is playing against Fiji.
"He can be so influential on a game because there are very few people who have his athletic ability. I’ve genuinely never seen anything like it.
"He’s able to do things that other people aren’t physically able to do and it’s a thing of beauty when he gets it right.
"The excitement should be there because we haven’t had a player like this for a very, very long time."
George is aware of the current frustration around the England side and their run of results after a poor Six Nations, in which they lost four of their five games.
"I’m aware of, and can resonate with, the fans’ frustration around the performances and results we have had over this period of time," he said.
"We are focusing internally on making sure we get better at fixing the problems we have had. But, also, we can’t just throw all our energy into the negativity.
"We need to focus also on what we are doing well and how we are doing it. I think you are going to see a big improvement against Fiji and then an even bigger improvement against Argentina next Saturday."
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Toby Chopra)
