IT’S SUPER MARO FOR STARTERS
Itoje gets his chance against Irish
MARO ITOJE is set to make his first start for England against Ireland after Joe launchbury’s hamstring injury forced him out of saturday’s RBs 6 Nations clash at Twickenham.
The 20-year-old saracens forward, one of the brightest prospects English rugby has produced in the last decade, was recently compared to World cup winning Red Rose captain Martin Johnson by defence coach Paul Gustard.
He is expected to be named in Eddie Jones’s starting line- up today to play alongside his clubmate George Kruis in the second row.
concerns over launchbury’s hamstring, which he injured in training on Tuesday, appeared to have eased yesterday morning when forwards coach steve Borthwick said of the Wasps forward: ‘He’s good, we have no concerns for the weekend.’
But despite Borthwick repeatedly stating he expected launchbury to be fit, the 24-year- old suffered a setback last night.
An RFU statement read: ‘It was anticipated that Joe launchbury would take part in England’s game against Ireland but after further consultation with team medical staff it has been decided he is unfit to play and will return back to his club for further treatment on a hamstring injury.’
courtney lawes (inset, right), another player who has battled injury setbacks in recent years, now looks likely to start on the bench with Itoje making an eagerly awaited first start.
Itoje has forced his way in through a string of excellent performances for saracens in the Aviva Premiership and made his Test debut off the bench against Italy.
The 6ft 5in, 18st powerhouse is among a group of young players in England’s squad, alongside Harlequins flanker Jack clifford, Northampton prop Paul Hill and Wasps centre Elliot Daly, who veteran full back Mike Brown believes can go on to become world- class stars.
While some will have balked at Jones’s assessment that his England squad currently features no world- class players at all, Brown is not of that mindset.
The England head coach made headlines over the weekend when he said that even the pending return of barn-storming centre Manu Tuilagi would still leave him without a single player capable of making a world XV.
Brown said: ‘As a player you just want people to be honest. You want to know what you need to work on.
‘We all want to be the best players we can be and if we want to be the best team in the world we need world- class players. It’s about being honest and we welcome that as players.
‘If it has a negative impact on you, you won’t be in the squad for very long. Everyone here has been challenged and it is about going away and doing that. If he didn’t think you could make that step up, I don’t think you would be here either. It is up to us now.’
Asked if England’s players could have been ‘deluded’ about their status in the global game before their crushing World cup exit, the 30-year-old Harlequin replied: ‘Yeah maybe, I don’t know. Eddie’s the boss so it’s what he says that counts.’
Two generations of gifted young English players have collectively failed to reach their potential on the international stage.
But there is a growing sense that the national team cannot achieve sustained success until the players’ gruelling playing schedule is urgently addressed. But despite the unparalleled playing demands faced by England’s top stars, Brown still believes there is a crop of talent in the current squad who are destined for elite status.
‘There’s so much talent coming through the age groups, guys who have won world titles, come in recently and done brilliantly,’ he said. ‘As long as they keep their heads on right, keep grounded — which they all are at the minute — keep working hard — which they all are — I have got no doubts in my mind that they can be world- class and have a massive impact on the international game.’
ENGLAND (probable) v Ireland: Brown; Watson, Joseph, Farrell, Nowell; Ford, B Youngs; Marler, Hartley (capt), Cole; Kruis, Itoje; Robshaw, B Vunipola, Haskell.
Subs: George, M Vunipola, Hill, Lawes, Clifford, Care, Daly, Goode.