Itoje antics were on right side of a line dividing the bully from the boorish
In mocking Glasgow’s disallowed score, the forward sent a useful message to his rivals
Maro Itoje has cult status in many parts of these isles for his Lions contributions, although Glasgow fans may not be articulating it in precisely that way after the mocking antics of the Saracens forward during the ill-tempered Champions Cup match against the Warriors on Sunday.
Itoje joined a gaggle of Glasgow players celebrating a try on the stroke of half-time who were unaware that the referee had blown for an infringement several seconds earlier, so ruling out the score. Itoje had heard the whistle at Scotstoun and knew exactly what he was doing. It was a taunting gesture and Itoje has received widespread criticism on social media for what has been regarded as unsportsmanlike behaviour.
Call it what you will – sissy, childish, petulant, provocative, sledging or, even, somehow not very manly or macho, not in keeping with the hard-man mores of the game and, so, worthy of a slap.
Ah, there we have it. The modern game, with its cameras, citings and busybody Television Match Officials does not allow for a slap any more, an old-school means of putting someone in their place, be it Itoje in this instance or perhaps those Glasgow opponents who had been winding him up in the first place.
This was Itoje’s version of retaliation. What goes around comes around.
You would rather not have it in the game, that is for sure, in the same way as players should not pat opponents on the head when they have made a mistake. If that had happened at the Rec on Saturday, poor old Freddie Burns would have needed a concrete-clad crash helmet to withstand the blows.
Referee Nigel Owens actually did reverse a penalty in the Northampton-clermont Auvergne Challenge Cup match for exactly that reason, deeming it “gamesmanship”.
But such antics, likewise the brandishing of imaginary yellow cards when trying to get an opponent sent to the sin-bin, have been allowed to take root. What used to be sorted out among the pack with a couple of well-placed thumps is no longer permissible or, more relevantly, invisible. Everything is seen. That is not always for the better.
On a slightly different tack, Nathan Hughes, the Wasps No8, has discovered that particular truth the hard way, punching Gloucester’s Lewis Ludlow, who was pinning him to the ground, and being cited as a result. The Hughes case has spiralled out of
Itoje does not take a backward step. It is just that his style is different to, say, Martin Johnson’s
control, sledgehammers being taken to crack nuts.
The Itoje case is more nuanced. Part of me thinks that it is unpalatable, yet a greater part of me admires the fact that someone of his profile, his athleticism, his Lions standing, is prepared to put his face in there where it hurts and mix it with the opposition, knowing that there may well be retaliation at some point. Indeed, Itoje left Glasgow with a broken nose, as did others, courtesy of a feisty, fractious afternoon.
Itoje does not take a backward step in these matters. It is just that his style is different to that, say, of Martin Johnson. Which approach is the more acceptable to you? The ironic clapper and celebrator, or the beetle-browed bruiser dishing it out? Different methods, same object – get the opposition on the back foot and make them aware that you are not to be messed with.
Itoje has been a star since he arrived on the scene five years ago when he made his Saracens debut. The 23-year-old is reported to be on the verge of signing a three-tofour-year extension to his Saracens contract worth in the region of £2.5 million. Itoje is worth whatever anyone is prepared to pay him. It is an entertainment as well as a sporting business and Itoje gives value on both fronts. There were concerns at one point that he was possibly being distracted by lucrative off-field endorsement offers coming his way, a danger that he was getting ahead of himself, hence Eddie Jones’s take-down of him being a Vauxhall, rather than the Rolls-royce persona being ascribed to him.
Yet Itoje has confounded the doubters. He is fully engaged with making himself a better rugby player, a beast of the turnover, a grunter in the maul and a pain in the backside for the opposition. That is what was seen at Scotstoun.
Is Itoje a childish brat, as some would have it? Or is he a latter-day Johnson? If everyone officiated the way Owens did, then fine. A few yellow cards and it would all be dealt with. Itoje will know that. And if he does not, then Mark Mccall or Jones will soon be pointing it out to him. The line is fine but it is clear. One side is being aggressive and proactive, the other is self-indulgent. Itoje is standing on the right side.