Star status won’t affect Maro’s performance

MARK McCall has no concerns that Maro Itoje’s growing off-field profile will negatively impact on his rugby.

Last November Itoje was signed up by Roc Nations Sports, musician Jay-Z’s sports management company, and looks set to become the first active English rugby player to become a household name since Jonny Wilkinson.

Once the front-cover star of Tatler magazine, 26year-old Itoje has done some outstanding work lobbying for digital equality for underprivileged schoolchildren during lockdown, as well as promoting black history and African art, subjects he is passionate about.

But with his superb attitude to training and unswerving high standards, the new public face of Marks & Spencer’s menswear range is literally the model professional, according to his Sarries boss.

“Maro is very much in control of the most important things in his life and he’s very clear on that,” McCall said. “I have never seen anything which would indicate that his rugby is suffering in any way.

“He’s completely on top of things, and I would say, up there with any of our players in terms of being a day in, day out consistent trainer who’s as professional as they get really.”

Other than the injured Elliot Daly, Itoje, right, is today set to be the last of Sarries’ big-name England contingent to take to the field this season. McCall has no doubt one of the standout stars of the Lions tour to South Africa will produce the goods for his club.

“He came back into training the same time as everybody else but we wanted to give him a little bit more time than the other Lions players because of his workload on tour,” McCall said. “He played a few more minutes than everybody else, but he’s chomping at the bit and it’s great to have him back.” Meanwhile, McCall said he isn’t the least bit surprised by how well the likes of Owen Farrell, Jamie George and the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, have adapted back to life in the Premiership after 15 months away.

He added: “What we are seeing on a weekly basis from them isn’t anything new, it’s what they have always been like, they have always been huge contributors to the group on and off the field to be honest, and that’s the way they are.

“They all seem highly motivated, whether that’s because they want to get back on the international scene or whether it is them being them, it is hard to differentiate between the two.”