England’s Itoje wants Test spot despite relentless workload
England forward tells Charlie Morgan that the hits take their toll amid a relentless workload
Eddie Jones may have suggested that Maro Itoje will be on a personal schedule of beach recovery during England’s training camp in Portugal this week, but the Saracen insists he is heading into the autumn internationals “expecting to play”.
A spate of early season injuries among Mark Mccall’s forwards meant an unbroken run of eight appearances and 602 minutes of game time for Itoje in the Premiership and Champions Cup before being rested for Saturday’s 44-13 victory over London Irish.
Having starred in the British and Irish Lions’ Test series against New Zealand – coming off the bench in the first Test and starting the next two – he might have been expecting a lighter burden.
However, Itoje, who turned 23 on Saturday, is keen to contribute for England in the matches against Argentina, Australia and Samoa.
“My body feels fantastic, thank you,” he says. “I’m good. I’m young, healthy. Life is good, family is good. Rugby’s good.
“I had to start the first game [for Saracens], just because of the situation we had at the club. I think we [the Lions] were going to be integrated from the second game onwards. Saracens have been very good to me, so whenever I can help them, I will – even if it cuts my holiday short a bit.”
Itoje credits Mccall’s performance staff and diligent off-field techniques, including cryotherapy and swimming with team-mate Alex Goode, for keeping him together during an arduous run. Now in his fifth year as a professional, he says the demands of his sport are escalating, and will continue “on an upward trajectory for a little while”.
“The game is a lot quicker and a lot more physical than it used to be,” Itoje adds. “Guys are becoming a lot better athletes and I’m sure that’s a result of better conditioners and improvements in sports science. It means collisions are getting more impactful.”
Such trends ensure that Monday mornings are not particularly comfortable before Tuesday’s tough sessions at Saracens. “If you want to continually get better, you can’t be fresh all week,” Itoje says.
Nursing a broken hand a year ago, Itoje was restricted to a spectating role for England’s autumn fixtures. Although he does not remember any angst, and just about refrains from swearing, his desire for involvement is clear.
“When I see Saracens and I see England play, and I’m not in it, that’s when I feel: ‘Sugar, I want to be with the boys’. There’s a feeling you get before games that it is hard to replicate in other situations – a mixture of anxiety and nervousness and excitement. I don’t think you can fully replicate that in other life moments.”
On the back of a remarkable summer, and a “special” secondtest win over the All Blacks in Wellington, Itoje is aware that any decision to omit him would not be made out of “spite” but because of his “long-term future”.
But it is now more than seven months since Itoje’s last cap in England’s 13-9 defeat by Ireland in Dublin, a loss that derailed a second consecutive Grand Slam.
The presence of six locks in Jones’s 34-man squad is also testament to youngsters emerging on the trip to Argentina and challenging the establishment. Charlie Ewels, Itoje’s engine-room partner through age-group rugby, and fellow Saracen Nick Isiekwe – with whom Itoje exchanged good-luck texts over the summer – are two individuals pressing hard.
“The depth we have in this country from a coach’s point of view is fantastic,” Itoje says.
“Even from a player’s point of view, if you do get the opportunity to wear the shirt, it makes you realise that you have worked hard to get it and if you don’t perform and you are not up to scratch there is x, y and z behind you or x, y and z potentially beside you who could do a job. So, it keeps you on your toes, keeps you hungry and keeps you wanting to get better.”
Given that both Itoje and Courtney Lawes, another Lion, have largely been deployed as blindside flankers on club duty, there is scope to combine them in the same starting pack with one of the two in the back row.
The pair dovetailed in this way during the 2017 Six Nations and, while hailing Lawes as a “standout” for Northampton, Itoje hints the shift would not bother him.
“I’ve always seen that either playing at six or in the second row, it doesn’t make too much difference to me.”