‘Superman’ missing in action
MARO ITOJE
WHERE has Maro Itoje gone? It is a question which has been occupying the thoughts of Eddie Jones in this season’s Six Nations.
A folk hero for the Lions in New Zealand last summer who was shortlisted for World Player of the Year, Itoje has endured an anonymous championship so far heading into round four. Superman has looked more like Clark Kent.
The turnover king of the 2017 Six Nations has been drawing a blank at the breakdown and his tackle count has slipped from 14.6 per game in last season’s championship to 11 so far in 2018.
Jones could do with the real Itoje back sharpish – preferably in Paris on Saturday night.
“He’s going to be a great player for us. What he’s going through at the moment is very natural and if he didn’t go through it you’d be worried about him,” said Jones.
“He’s second season. First season, no one knows what’s your best shot; no one knows where you score runs. Second season everyone knows and they take that away from you. And you’ve got to find a different way to score runs. He’s an energetic player who gets a lot of his energy from around the ruck and they’re just not giving him that opportunity.
“A player has to work it out for himself but the coaches are assisting, steering him in one direction to prioritise his time and his effort. It’s a great exercise for him because by the time he gets to the World Cup he’ll be third year.
“He’s a very diligent, serious player and I’ve been really impressed by him. I’m impressed by him more this season than I was last because he’s working hard to improve his game. He understands he’s got to improve his game.”
Jones’s history is slightly awry. This is actually Itoje’s third season of Six Nations rugby given that he featured in four games in 2016.
But the theory is sound enough, especially when added to two other important contributory factors in his mini-slump.
The first is the broken jaw from which Itoje rushed back in January. He is playing with a metal plate inserted. The second is the treadmill from which that injury gave him brief respite. The Lions tour was unforgettable but also unforgiving – especially when his club Saracens pressed him into service from the very start of the domestic season.
There always was likely to be a post-Lions price to be paid further down the line and it appears England, for all that they rested Itoje for a Test in the autumn, are paying it now – individually and perhaps collectively. “History shows the team that has the most Lions struggles in the Six Nations. There are a lot of reasons to understand why,” said Jones. “We had 16 players and I always knew this was going to be a tough year. We haven’t used that as an excuse and we don’t intend to but certainly, when you’ve got that many players playing a post-season tour that is three or four times longer than a normal tour, it’s going to have an effect.”
As for Itoje, he trudges on, hoping to keep his place for France. “I do what I do every week and that is to put my best foot forward,” he said.
“Our job is to put our best foot forward and Eddie’s is to pick the team. He is the boss so picks whatever team he feels is necessary to beat France. For me I will just work on my own game and let his selection take place.
“People get dropped after wins. I have played before and got dropped. No one wants to be in that situation but the game goes with ebbs and flows. Sometimes you’re on top and sometimes you’re not.”