ITOJE THE PERFECT CHOICE TO ROUSE RUGBY’S SLEEPING GIANT...
SUPER MARO IS THE TORCHBEARER ON AMERICA ADVENTURE
THERE were fewer autograph hunters than usual as Maro Itoje stepped out of the team hotel to grab a Philly cheesesteak, walk up the Rocky Steps and visit the African American Museum.
If it were not for his 6ft 5in and 18st 4lb frame, he could have passed for any other tourist in Philadelphia, where Saracens face Newcastle tonight as the Premiership seeks fame and fortune in the USA.
‘Rugby isn’t their natural sport here,’ said the second row. ‘But it’s the largest economy in the world so, from a financial point of view, it makes sense for the powers that be to get on this market.’
Having graduated during the summer — missing his ceremony because of the Lions tour — the politics student was keen to learn more about the country often styled as rugby’s sleeping giant.
‘It’s cool to get a flavour of the city and its history — from slavery to the abolition to the civil rights movement,’ said Itoje, whose parents are from Nigeria. ‘At one point in time, Philadelphia had the highest amount of freed African American slaves.’
Itoje has mixed social time with training since touching down on American soil last Sunday.
Tonight’s fixture is in the Talen Energy Stadium, the home of Philadelphia’s Major League Soccer team, in a bid to spread rugby’s gospel and Itoje is the sport’s most marketable asset.
There is a long way to go but the lock has already been earmarked for his States appeal — with national broadcaster CNN running a feature entitled The double life of
England’s Super Maro. ‘Rugby’s growing and it’s been growing at an exponential rate since it turned professional,’ said Itoje. ‘In terms of the power, the pace, the skill, and also in terms of the team behind the team.
‘ I’ve noticed that people in Philadelphia are sports crazy. They think we’re crazy because we don’t have pads but I tell them we’ll be OK. I used to play basketball so I follow big teams, the Golden States, the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially around the play-offs.
‘I follow LeBron James, Steph Curry, some former players like Magic Johnson, some old NBA players like Hakeem Olajuwon. What’s really interesting are the personalities in the teams that drive them forward. Every team has a bunch of characters. We have a few at Saracens. It’s impossible to have 15 players the same.
‘When it comes to getting successful teams together, you need characters who behave differently, operate differently, think differently, but who all have the goal of being successful.’
Saracens have selected all of their available Lions players to put on a blockbuster show.
Mako and Billy Vunipola, Liam Williams and Owen Farrell all make their first starts of the season, with rookie lock Nick Isiekwe partnering Itoje in the absence of injured George Kruis.
The European champions are the standard-bearers for Northern Hemisphere rugby, but the game is more than a marketing mission
as Saracens seek to avenge last week’s defeat by Bath.
‘We felt as if we didn’t really put a Saracens performance out there,’ said Itoje. ‘I think in the long run it will be a good thing for us, especially this early in the season to learn those lessons. There are going to be a lot of highs and a lot of lows and it is important to remain level. No one went crazy.’
Newcastle, meanwhile, are second in the early standings following their unbeaten start.
Fronted up by flankers Mark Wilson and Will Welch, who are pushing for England calls next week, they are making progress.
‘This trip is about letting the lads enjoy themselves but our aim is to win,’ said Falcons head coach Dave Walder, whose side have conceded just 20 points in the opening two rounds. ‘We’ve spoken to some NFL players and our physios have been to see the Philadelphia 76ers and the baseball, too.
‘People in the North-East go to sport to be entertained. I’m from Newcastle and I’ve followed Newcastle United for years. They like to see Kevin Keegan, Bobby Robson — local lads wearing their heart on their sleeves.
‘Ultimately they want success, so you want to win, but you want to win in the right way.’
A slow and turgid game tonight would win neither hearts nor minds in Pennsylvania. Baseball NFL, basketball and ice hockey dominate the airwaves and promoters have been on a marketing push to try to fill the 19,500-seat stadium and avoid embarrassing empty spaces. The debate over quarterbacks dominated the sports pages here yesterday and former Saracens CEO Edward Griffiths has compared the game to planting a seed in a desert.
Itoje, however, hopes rugby can learn its own lessons from its US venture. ‘What I love about American sports is the show they put on around the event,’ said Itoje. ‘Even if you go to a game and it turns out to be a relatively boring game, the whole show ensures you get your money’s worth.
‘When you go to some rugby games you think this could be done better, it’s something that we could look at.’