Owen Farrell has fire in his eyes but ice in his veins as he seeks to emulate Martin Johnson and lift the Rugby World Cup for England on Saturday in Yokohama.
Sixteen years after Johnson raised the Webb Ellis Cup to the Sydney skies Farrell will lead England out against South Africa with the hopes of a nation on his shoulders and with his team-mates pledging to follow their inspirational captain to glory.
“You see it in his eyes, it’s a look. If he asks for more, we’re going to give him more. That’s the way that he is,” said England hooker Jamie George.
“As a leader I can’t speak highly enough of him. He is the sort of person you want to follow. He leads from the front.
“He has been a leader since I have known him at 14.
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“Back then it was probably a lot more shouting because of frustration more than anything but now I think he has just developed a huge amount.
“He has got a lot calmer, I’d say. He talks a lot about being in control of your emotions. That is something he has learnt a lot through his younger years.
“The nice thing is that Owen has developed a leadership style now that is his own. And it is pretty impressive.”
Farrell provided the on-field lead against the All Blacks in the semi-final by facing down the Haka with a smile and then refusing to come off despite a debilitating leg injury which has restricted his training this week.
But George also paid tribute to the off-field work he has done ahead of the final.
“He is a person you can trust because you know first of all that he is probably the best at it in terms of his rugby ability but also the amount of tape that he watches,” he said.
“You know for a fact that the messages that he is giving you, he has been thinking over and over again.”
Meanwhile, Billy Vunipola is determined to get the better of South African rival Duane Vermeulen in this Saturday’s final.
“I’ve played against them a few times and he’s got up the last few times so personally I’m going to try my best to win that little battle and hopefully that will help the team,” said Vunipola.
“I played against him last summer and he was monumental in terms of getting them those two victories. He just played better.
“It’s something I think about in terms of trying to help my team as much as possible. I guess he comes into that equation because he’s such a big player for them.”