Itoje insists Murrayfield lessons will benefit in long run

MARO Itoje insists England’s morale remains high despite the Murrayfield downer and is confident of a win in Paris on Saturday.

“Everyone was a bit sad after the game, but this week has been good and the morale is right back up there,” he said. “It’s regeneration this week and we will get stuck in. There is still an awesome opportunity for us and we have two games with it all to play for.

“The game goes with ebbs and flows. Sometimes you’re on top and sometimes you’re not. Unfortunately we couldn’t control the momentum the way we liked. It wasn’t all doom and there are some positives and big learnings to take on board and make us a much better team.”

Itoje knows England must turn up the heat at the breakdown against a French pack which has improved as the competition has progressed.

He added: “France are very physical with a strong set piece. They have a bit of magic in their backline. They have big confrontational men who like to carry hard and that’s what we expect.

“The breakdown is not the role of any one player, even if you’re in the back row. It’s the role of the whole team. Obviously it wasn’t good enough at the weekend and we need to be better in that area.”

After a lacklustre performance from the pack, Itoje is aware Eddie Jones may look to tinker with his lineup.

Itoje added: “People get dropped after wins and I have played before and got dropped – no one wants to be in that situation – but you just have to work hard and train hard.”

The Stade de France will have a foreboding atmosphere on Saturday night but Itoje is unconcerned.

“For me it’s not about playing away, it’s about how you turn up. I’ve played away a number of times and had a good result. It’s not because of any magical reason. It’s because of the team and everyone pushing in the right direction.”