As a British & Irish Lion, Jamie George knows all about the importance of team bonding and the hooker expects Saracens' recent pre-season tour to Bermuda to pay dividends this season.

Saracens took a 44-man squad on the club’s Atlantic Rugby Cup tour with Lions George, Owen Farrell, George Kruis, Maro Itoje, Mako Vunipola and Liam Williams all included.

The sextet were unavailable for selection for the match against the USA Islanders, but took a full part in the three-day training camp ahead of the new Aviva Premiership Rugby season.

And while there was plenty of hard-work done by the squad, George insists that enjoying their time off-the-field will prove just as important in the coming campaign.

“It was an amazing place to tour and bond, it was a great way to bond with the guys that you’ve known, but you’ve got to know them better and that’s hugely important for us at Saracens,” said George, who was speaking on behalf of Land Rover, who this season will be celebrating its Testimonial Season; ten years of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, the national series of grassroots rugby festivals for U11 and U12 teams..

“We really believe it. I think we’ve shown over the last eight seasons that we are very close off the field and that’s reflected on the field. We’ve shown that we really do care about each other.

“If we put time into knowing each other off the field we’re going to be better on the field and take all those experiences and how much we care for each other and put it out there on the field.

“It wasn’t a bad first week back in pre-season. We trained really hard out there. I have to say the boys are looking really sharp after pre-season.

“There are a lot of videos of us diving off boards but they were off the back of tough training sessions and then we were given the weekend to ourselves.”

Land Rover has a heritage in supporting rugby at all levels, from grassroots to the elite. In celebration of its tenth season partnering with the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, Land Rover will be rewarding a lucky U11 and U12 team from each regional rugby festival with an exclusive trip to Twickenham for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final on May 26.

The teams will get to meet a Land Rover rugby ambassador, join in a Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup Testimonial Parade at half-time and hear which of them has won a club MVP award.

Four of the six Lions who secured a remarkable 1-1 series draw in New Zealand this summer hailed from the Saracens pack, after the club secured back-to-back European titles last year.

But that hasn’t stopped Director of Rugby Mark McCall strengthening the options available to him in the front eight with the arrival of second row Will Skelton and flanker Calum Clark.

Clark has agreed a three-year deal at Allianz Park after leaving Northampton Saints – Saracens opponents in their opening game at Twickenham – while Skelton has 18 caps for Australia.

And George is excited to see what the new arrivals can produce in North London as the club look to regain the league title that they lifted two seasons ago.

“I think we’ve signed really intelligently. I’m looking forward to seeing big Will Skelton in a Saracens shirt, if he can fit into one,” George added.

“I’m also looking forward to watching Callum Clark. He’s had some seriously bad luck with injuries but I played with him when we were younger in the under 20’s.

“He’s just such a brilliant player and if he can get his body right and his mind right, who knows where he can go.

“He’s really bought into the culture here at Saracens really quickly and he loves it. Hopefully we can get the best out of him, which is an exciting prospect.”

Land Rover is celebrating its ‘Testimonial Season’; ten years of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup. The national series of grassroots rugby festivals is testament to Land Rover’s continued support of grassroots rugby through its ‘We Deal In Real’ campaign. Follow @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal