Itoje can compete with the Bok giants
NICK CAIN LOOKS AT THE CONTENDERS FOR EACH POSITION
THE old description of Lions locks being as lofty as pine trees, and about as mobile, is one which was toppled many moons ago. Over the last 25 years the great second row forwards who have represented the Lions have had to transform in order to meet the new age requirements of not only being big men with earth-moving power and endurance, but also eyeopening athleticism and mobility.
They are the giant decathletes of the modern 15-man game, and none more so than the pairing of Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje that took on the All Blacks in the drawn 2017 series in New Zealand.
There are inevitably question marks over whether Jones can peak again next summer in South Africa to make his third Lions tour at the age of 35. However, given that the Welsh captain is essentially a centrally contracted player, whose programme is managed carefully at the Ospreys so that he is primed for international windows, he has not got as much mileage on the clock as most veteran locks.
There were signs during the recent, truncated 2020 Six Nations campaign that Jones has mileage left on the clock after he was consistently among the best performers in the Welsh pack, despite their disappointing losses to Ireland, France, and England.
Another factor in Jones’ favour is that he was Warren Gatland’s chosen man to replace Sam Warburton as skipper in his last two years in charge of Wales – and was also promoted when Warburton was injured for the crucial second Test victory on the 2017 Lions tour.
The upshot is that the 2021 Lions coach knows he has a proven leader to hand against the Springboks, just as long as a year from now Jones can demonstrate the form and fitness required of a Lions Test second row starter.
It is a given that there will be fierce competition for every place in any Lions squad, but nowhere more so than at lock for the coming tour.
This means that even a player of Jones’ pedigree cannot expect preferential treatment, especially as Gatland has proved on previous tours – most notably when he dropped Brian O’Driscoll in 2013 – that he will not allow sentiment to get in the way of selecting the best Lions side to win a series.
If Gatland was forced to look for a different captain, and wanted another forward to take up the mantle, then Itoje would be bound to come into the reckoning. His outstanding displays against New Zealand four years ago, as well as the remarkable world-class level of consistency he has shown for England since then, gives him castiron playing credentials.
Itoje’s only shortfall is that he has not captained his country, or his club, Saracens, since leading the 2014 England U20 side to the world junior title, and therefore does not have credentials as a Test-level captain. Whether that inexperience is remedied between now and the tour to South Africa is a question for England coach Eddie Jones and his Saracens counterpart Mark McCall.
The invaluable asset Itoje has is the confidence of having partnered Jones in going toe-to-toe three years ago with the All Black second row pairing of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock hailed as the world’s best, and matching them in every department.
Since then Itoje, who will be 26 next summer, has gone one better by outplaying the New Zealand duo during England’s 2019 semi-final victory in Yokohama – although it will rankle with him that the Red Rose pack came a distant second to the Springboks in the final.
There are four more locks from the the 2017 Lions squad in contention in England’s Courtney Lawes (who will be 32) , and George Kruis (31) – both of whom played in the Test series – Ireland’s Iain Henderson (29), and Welsh tour replacement Cory Hill (29).
All of them will still be in the frame, although if Kruis goes to play club rugby in Japan and is not available for 2021 Six Nations duty, he will be an outside bet.
Someone who has already put his hand up, and is well-placed to gatecrash the party, is James Ryan, the impressive young Irish and Leinster lock. Ryan is a fast-moving athlete, who, like Itoje, has a prodigious workrate, and could thrive in fast, dry South African conditions.
Among the other second row hopefuls will be the rugged Welshman Jake Ball and his 6ft 8ins fellow countryman Adam Beard, two Scots in tackle-machine Jonny Gray and the versatile Sam Skinner – and, if mobility is a key factor, it might also put Skinner’s uncapped Exeter teammate, Jonny Hill, in the picture.
It almost goes without saying, given the traditional size of South African packs, that the locks that the Lions will be up against will be massive.
Nothing has changed in that regard when you look at their 2019 world champion second row pairing of Eben Etzebeth (6ft 8ins and 19st 5lb/123 kg) and Lood De Jager (6ft 9ins, 19st 9lb/125kg), as well as bench lock RG Snyman (6ft 9ins, 18st 7lb/117kg).
The Lions locks may not be quite as stratospheric at the Springboks at the line-out, but when it comes to speed into the air – and around the pitch – as well as all-round skill, they promise to be hard to hold.