Itoje held back by Jones’ suspicion of superstars
‘It was clear to me that, at times, he was struggling to manage his pin-up boy status. He had to mature’
For all the opprobrium Eddie Jones invited through his dubious equivalence between Marcus Smith and Emma Raducanu, he has long been sceptical of those he perceives as overexposed before their time. Smith is hardly the first player under his watch to be scrutinised for signs of being puffed up prematurely.
Take the curious case of
Maro Itoje. It was December 2015, just a few weeks into Jones’s tenure, that the thrilling lock was being touted in several commentaries as the next England captain. But almost six years on, he still cannot even find a place in the team’s leadership group.
Given that Itoje’s performances have only grown more authoritative during that time, the question arises as to whether the hype is holding him back.
Jones has long felt uneasy about the publicity machine around Itoje. At the start of the pair’s working relationship with England, Itoje’s advocates painted him as the game’s future: a dynamic, eloquent, photogenic star whose Nigerian ancestry and acute social conscience could tap into demographics previously unreached by rugby.
Except Jones, never one to be swayed by sentiment, saw only a raw 21-year-old yet to prove himself at elite international level. Ahead of Itoje’s first start for England at the 2016 Six Nations, the Australian banned him from uttering a word to journalists. “I don’t want him to be built up to be a headline before he’s a headline,” he said. “He doesn’t deserve media exposure. He has done nothing. Nothing.”
A few tellingly acerbic lines about Itoje’s fame later appeared in Jones’s 2019 autobiography, My Life and Rugby. “His striking physical presence had made him a darling of the media, and he was having his tyres pumped up almost every day,” he reflected. “In their eyes, he could do no wrong. But it was clear to me that, at times, he was struggling to manage his pin-up boy status. He needed to mature.”
Here you had a vintage putdown from master to apprentice. Except Itoje is not the impressionable young buck any longer: at 27, he is a veritable veteran, poised to earn his 50th England cap against Australia tomorrow.
But for all that he has acquired a reputation as a second-row wrecking ball, not least through his extraordinary display in the World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand, Jones stubbornly refuses to formalise his leadership role.
For this autumn series, two of Owen Farrell’s on-field lieutenants are Ellis Genge and
Tom Curry, both younger than Itoje. It feels as if the most naturally imposing figure on the team is being deliberately passed over.
One explanation lies in the inescapable prominence of Itoje’s profile beyond the sport. He is the face of M&S men’s fashion, he is the first rugby player signed to Jay-z’s Roc Nation management group, and he appears thoroughly at ease posing for a Tatler cover shoot alongside Lady Amelia Windsor.
Danny Cipriani, whose propensity for attracting outside attention would exasperate Jones, argued this week that it could only be beneficial to rugby for Itoje to be pictured in the company of rappers and socialites.
Jones, though, views the equation very differently, expecting players under his command to bury personal vanities in the pursuit of collective glory.
Not unreasonably, this has exposed him to charges of hypocrisy. He has, after all, been quite content to monetise his own image, promoting everything from Mitsubishi cars to crab meat at a Sapporo market. But he is unbending in his rule that his proteges should be as inconspicuous as possible.
It is why Farrell fits the Jones mould perfectly. While his teammates depict him as inspirational in the dressing room, his public persona remains a blank canvas.
Is Itoje losing his place in the order of succession because of his portfolio of non-rugby interests and endorsements? Given Jones’s previous statements, you would not put it
past him. The head coach appears to regard Itoje as too much of a free spirit, too much of a corporate butterfly, to be entrusted with the captaincy that once appeared his destiny.