INCREDIBLE
Maro makes amends to floor the French START WITH RUGBY UNION
FROM villain to hero, penalty liability to match-winner, serial offender to saviour.
Maro Itoje’s transformation from Cardiff fall guy to Twickenham super hero was hailed as “sensational” by England coach Eddie Jones.
A reputation harmed by the gift of five penalties to Wales a fortnight ago was restored to its full splendour on Saturday.
In front of watching Lions coach Warren Gatland, Itoje restated his case not only to be considered the best in the land, but perhaps all the world.
“I thought Maro was incredible,” said Jones. “The amount of criticism he’s received, he took it on the chin, got on with it, fixed his game and was absolutely sensational.
“That’s a player of great stature. A real great testament to his character, to his desire to be a good team-mate.”
Itoje capped a near-faultless display with the winning try three minutes from time. It was his first score for a year and a half and turned a dead-end campaign into a springboard to genuine World Cup hope.
The Saracens lock, 26, allowed himself a smile as TMO Joy Neville overturned referee Andrew Brace’s initial decision not to award the try. But nothing more.
“There’s a perception about my game and how I play which I’m working hard to change,” he said.
“This is only one game. I’ll have to do that on a consistent level.”
Itoje acknowledged that conceding five penalties in a game creates an impression of him as a serial offender which affects how referees see him. “It is about making understanding better,” he said.
“I don’t want to lose any of the good stuff that I do because I know what I can bring to a team and how I can influence a game.
“I want to still be as confrontational as better and decisions, about reading referees
I can. My mentality makes me the player I am. If I lose my bite and edge, you might as well play somebody else because that is the stuff that makes me me.
“But it’s about not trying to do it all and trusting the system to deal with it. Choose my moments, have an understanding of the context of the game. I have to thread effectively.”
Not since the 2019 World Cup semifinal win against New Zealand had England touched the heights they did against the previously unbeaten French.
They conceded a try in 65 seconds and trailed 17-13 at half-time but, as dazzling that needle more
EOIN MORGAN says England will have to learn the hard way if they are going to master Indian surfaces before the T20 World Cup.
The captain admitted India were far superior in yesterday’s seven-wicket triumph which levelled the series at 1-1 in Ahmedabad.
His opposite number Virat Kohli and debutant Ishan Kishan both batted brilliantly to score 50s.
They enabled the hosts to chase down England’s 164-6 with 13 balls to spare and in doing so made the pitch look far more comfortable to bat on.
And Morgan insists it’s being able to set matchwinning totals on slow pitches that remains England’s biggest challenge.
He said: “It is one that exposes our weaknesses and absolutely shows why this series was so important ahead of the World Cup.
“I’m glad we played on this wicket but I’m disappointed with the way we played.
“Regardless of how we do in the series, we want to learn as much as we can and get better on these surfaces ahead of the World Cup.
“If we have to learn the hard way, we are still going through that process.” England were in the game at the halfway stage thanks to Jason Roy’s 46 but others couldn’t quite cash in.
Morgan admitted he would have liked to see his batsmen target bowlers that suit their style more clinically in the way that Kishan did as soon as Adil Rashid came on.
Jos Buttler missed a tough chance to remove Kohli on 10 and he made England pay before revealing how AB de Villiers is still finding a way to hurt England.
Kohli said: “I’ve always taken pride in doing the job for the team, so I’m more happy about that than scoring 70-odd.
“I kept my eye on the ball. I had a special chat with AB before this game and he told me just to watch the ball. So I did!”