GeorgeKruis

George Kruis came through the ranks at Saracens learning his trade from his mentor and then teammate Steve Borthwick.

With Borthwick now installed as England and British & Irish Lions forwards coach, their partnership will continue in New Zealand.

Kruis’ selection comes about largely due to a stellar 2016 with England in which he established himself as one of the leading locks in the game.

A product of Dorking RFC, Kruis broke into the Sarries first team in the 2011/12 season but had to wait for his international debut until the autumn of 2014.

That first appearance came against the All Blacks, Kruis coming off the bench in a narrow defeat and then appearing in the subsequent three games of that autumn also as a replacement.

He was again a replacement during the Rugby World Cup against Australia and Uruguay but with Eddie Jones’ arrival, the lineout expert became a mainstay in the second row in 2016.

Partnering his clubmate Maro Itoje in the engine room, Kruis and England won the Grand Slam last year – Kruis’ first and so far only try for his country coming against Scotland in Edinburgh – and they also beat Australia 3-0 in a summer Test series.

In between those two fine achievements, Kruis and Itoje also guided Saracens to an Aviva Premiership and European double.

While injuries have disrupted his 2016/17 season, he did return from an ankle injury to help England to victory over Argentina and Australia in November, and having missed the RBS 6 Nations he proved his fitness with Sarries to earn a spot in the Lions squad.