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'I think we should speak about it' - Maro Itoje on lucrative deals and facing the Bulls
Maro Itoje is fully focussed on the task at hand as his Saracens side get ready to take on the Bulls in Pretoria on in the opening round of the Champions Cup on Saturday.
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The 29-year-old has been rumoured to be heading towards a lucrative move to France, but has yet to indicate what his plans may be.
Speaking to Jim Hamilton for RugbyPass TV ahead of this weekend’s match, he has said that players need to maximise their opportunities, as a rugby player’s career is a short one.
“When I say maximise, that includes financially, but that also includes the level of enjoyment, that also includes your family situation, that also includes life after rugby. So there’s all these different things that you have to take into consideration.
“But should we be comfortable speaking about it? I think we should speak about it and we shouldn’t vilify players whatever decision they make. Because one decision for one person doesn’t mean it’s the right decision for another and it is never as simple as it seems.”
Having played a significant part in England’s Rugby World Cup campaign that resulted in them ultimately finishing in third place, the demands of professional rugby have meant that the body and mind get very little time to recuperate.
“I don’t want to complain because you know, there’s far tougher jobs out there and it is a blessing to be doing what we are able to do. That being said, it is still mentally taxing.
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“You know, we go from a World Cup to the Premiership season to Europe, then back to the Six Nations, then back into Europe, then back into the Premiership then back into the tail end of the season. Then we go on a summer tour, we get a short break, then we’re into the Premiership, then into autumn… So, it is quite relentless.
“That being said, it is a blessing at the same time. If I was one of those players who weren’t really involved, I’d be dying to be in the position of playing these big games and being in these big occasions. As with everything in life, there is a bit of balance that needs to be had.”
After losing out to the Springboks in a dramatic Paris semi final by just one point, the England and Saracens second row is excited for another physically demanding challenge.
“Yeah, you know South African teams, they tend to be really physical. The set piece is obviously a big part of their game, they normally have a strong kicking game and all those aspects are what we expect from the Bulls. They’ve been going pretty well in the URC. They have a number of Springboks, they have a number of good players. They just had a big result on the weekend.
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“So from my point of view it’s really exciting. If you take a step back, how lucky are we to be here in this environment in South Africa at the moment, playing rugby, traveling the world? It’s such a great opportunity. So from a Saracens point of view we just want to make the most of the opportunity.
“We’re looking to step up. We know the Bulls is going to be a tough game, but we have a good team. We have good players, we back ourselves.
“We love coming to arenas and beautiful stadiums like this to play. So yeah, we’re going to give our all.”
The full chat between Jim Hamilton and Maro Itoje can be watched on RugbyPass TV
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments