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Six NationsEngland

'Maro has had to carry the load': The reason Charlie Ewels has been chosen as Itoje's England lock partner

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Getty Images)

Maro Itoje arrived into the 2021 Guinness Six Nations amid speculation that the tournament would be the springboard for him to play well with England and demonstrate why he should be the captain of the Lions tour against the Springboks if that particular series goes ahead. 

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However, his championship hasn’t turned out as he would have liked. As a relegated Saracens player, he made do with a mini pre-season over the winter rather than have any club matches to play in between the December 6 Autumn Nations Cup final and the February 6 Six Nations opener.

It left his game looking a touch rusty and his efforts to get back to being a player at the very top of his world-class game suffered another blow when he coughed up five penalties during the round three England loss to Wales. 

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Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell look ahead to Saturday’s showdown with France

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Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell look ahead to Saturday’s showdown with France

Having conceded five penalties across England’s other two matches, Itoje has accounted for ten of the 41 penalties conceded by Eddie Jones’ side in their three February outings and in an effort to now lighten that load on the star second row, Jonny Hill has been dropped to the bench with Charlie Ewels promoted.

It will be a 20th Test cap for the Bath lock but only his second ever Six Nations start, his last coming 13 months ago when England were beaten by France in Paris at the start of the 2020 championship. 

Jones will hope that result isn’t a bad omen the second time around. Instead, the belief is that Ewels will be the perfect foil in helping Itoje get back to being the menace-in-chief that England have come to know and love ever since he first burst on the scene in 2016.   

“The lineout contest in the Six Nations has been of a very high standard and Charlie helps us in that area,” explained Jones ahead of Saturday’s Twickenham showdown with France. “He is a lineout analytic guy and he will help Maro in that area. Maro has been carrying a fairly heavy load there. 

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“We have always had up until last season either George Kruis or Joe Launchbury looking after that area if Maro had been involved. Unfortunately for the Six Nations, Maro has had to carry the load in an area that has become more contestable. 

“So Charlie will help Maro in that area and he is a good young guy who at his best carries hard and tackles hard and around the ruck against France that is going to be super important. We feel like he is approaching his best at the moment.”

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Ardy 2 hours ago
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The VAR was established based on a false premise that the decisions would be correct. All that has happened is another referee with their own biases comes to a different opinion. We need to accept that the referee with assistants are the final arbiters of the game and only use a video review in the case of tries. Installing this level of review shows up the complexity and difficulty of getting decisions accurate at all times. It is a waste of time and money in a game with more stoppages than most, it is very frustrating to those watching the game and that is what it was supposed to fix.

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JD Kiwi 3 hours ago
Why England should take Joe Marler’s advice and build for the future in the front row

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Tom 6 hours ago
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Bull Shark 7 hours ago
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Ah. Hogg. The poster boy of the Lions. Who is he related to at RP?

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Tom 9 hours ago
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He doesn't have the instincts for it having played so much 15s, hence the best 15s player on the planet can't make the starting 7. He's capable of game breaking moments off the bench but his instinct is to play flat and put the other players on crash balls. He's still trying to play 7s like a 15s number 9. Can't actually believe Great Britain aka The Lions couldn't even qualify, what a joke. I wanted to see Adam Radwan play! :(

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RW 9 hours ago
There's only one answer to the Springboks' fly-half conundrum

Improve the the chat, block Turlough

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DP 9 hours ago
Melvyn Jaminet handed huge suspension and fine by France

Now lets see what happens to the two French “alleged” rapists in Argentina…

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Rob 10 hours ago
Melvyn Jaminet handed huge suspension and fine by France

Good

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Bull Shark 11 hours ago
There's only one answer to the Springboks' fly-half conundrum

It’s all going to come down to kicking form. I suspect if Libbok shines up on his kicking in training he’d start with DW at 15 and SFM covering 23. Getting yanked if it’s a tight game. But it won’t be long until SFM is the incumbent 10.

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DG 13 hours ago
Why England should take Joe Marler’s advice and build for the future in the front row

I’m surprised that Craig Wright isn’t getting a mention. His performances, throughout the World Champs were consistently great and his stats must be up there. He very active in the open and appeared to do a great job in the scrum, but I’m no expert!

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RugbyAnalysis 13 hours ago
Why England should take Joe Marler’s advice and build for the future in the front row

Thanks Nella, a very interesting approach to the problems of front rows and the scrum in particular. I work as a data analyst for a club that is strongly based on a vertical style of play, and I have rediscovered the technical vitality of front row play and the radical importance of set pieces. The game is populated by hundreds of details that we do not perceive and that make the potential difference between winning and losing. In Argentina we call 'Mañas' these differential capacities that inhabit this type of player (´Tricks´ in English...?).

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Turlough 13 hours ago
There's only one answer to the Springboks' fly-half conundrum

I think SAs problem is one of arrogance. Their boasting and goading before the Irish series was a perfect example of it. Ebens blood covered face is a good reminder of where lack of humility gets you. Hopefully they can proceed with more honour and less arrogance from now on. Pollard kicked 100% versus Ireland and still lost. Change it now.

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MO 14 hours ago
South Africa stun New Zealand as men’s Olympic sevens semi-finals set

SA deserved the win, ABs were error prone and I believe a little complacent. I am assuming a Fiji vs France final, unless the Boks can destoy Dupont’s dream again.

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W
WR 14 hours ago
There's only one answer to the Springboks' fly-half conundrum

Tough one but I disagree. Putting Libbok in most matches will cost us. Especially against better teams. He just doesn't have what it takes. Aside from his kicking woes, he is a very good player. Pollard are the best option for tough games, but SFM is the best choice for me. He can do what both other players can do. He can play more positions than them. He is the best SA have now and will be for a very long time to come. We have an absolute super star like Kolbe, KLA and Moody in SFM. Time to get him in that 10 jersey and let him show case his absolute class. To let him grow and learn all he can from Tony Brown as we won't have TB for always. Most likely only until 2027. NZ will want him back. Time to cash in and go for broke. ML as an impact player might be a better option unless it's against a top 5 team, then best to have HP on the bench in case. That's not experience that can be chucked away. That would be stupid. We have WLR and DW at 15, HP and SFM at flyhalf. If anything, why not see how ML performs as a a scrum half? I know it's not his usual position, but he can be converted. You can't exchange what (in my personal opinion) is one of the best centre pairings currently in the world for ML or HP. That would be a disaster. No, we need HP at least on the bench playing top 5 in the WR.

35 Go to comments
W
WR 14 hours ago
South Africa stun New Zealand as men’s Olympic sevens semi-finals set

Well, on X they claim they beat SA by 2-1 and won the series against SA. Nevermind that it's 2 different competitions with completely different players, and a completely different country. AGAIN, they think that talking about it and claiming it, that they are the winners. That they DESERVE IT. Yet, as per usual, they CHOKED AGAIN in the quarterfinals. The Boks had 2 good games. That's it. The French is a different story altogether. They know how to reach a final. 2 games to go for either Gold or Bronze. Good news that, but coming in 4th don't get medals, so the Boks have to get in the final to be assured of a medal. It won't be easy. Only teams that CAN play is still in the competition, not teams that thinks talking themselves into a medal will get them a medal. Fiji is now the favorites would be my guess, but anyone can take it from here. Good luck Boks!! As usual you have my full support💯

23 Go to comments
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Mzilikazi 14 hours ago
James Horwill: ''You can't tell me the code’s in trouble when you see every ticket's sold.'

Thanks , Brett. It will be a very powerful Lions team, but the WB’s will be stronger too, would be my feeling. I don’t see it being all one way traffic.

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StephenE 14 hours ago
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Bull Shark 14 hours ago
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I see shifting from 7s to 15s as a pretty logical and good developmental step for good rugby players. But going 15s to 7s makes little sense for most. Which is why I agree AdP is a freak. Which is why France will win the gold and smash everyone as the rightful no.1 favourites!

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Bull Shark 14 hours ago
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Let the disparagement and abuse BEGIN! Pity Ireland can’t lose without (some fools) feeling sorry for themselves. Attitude determines your altitude.

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WR 14 hours ago
South Africa stun New Zealand as men’s Olympic sevens semi-finals set

My comment disappeared

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