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Maro Itoje's Tuilagi verdict: 'When Manu is at his best he is an absolute monster'

By Chris Jones
Manu Tuilagi celebrates after scoring England's third try against an outclassed Ireland at Twickenham (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Maro Itoje has warned England’s World Cup rivals that Manu Tuilagi is an “absolute monster” after overcoming numerous injury problems to help his country destroy Ireland in record-breaking style 57-15 at Twickenham on Saturday.

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Try-scorer Tuilagi put in a man of the match performance in the No13 jersey normally worn by the injured Henry Slade. Playing outside the rekindled 10/12 axis of George Ford and Owen Farrell, the rejuvenated Leicester midfielder showed what England missed during the lengthy period he was kept out of the game by serious injuries.

Head coach Eddie Jones believes there is still 20 per cent more to come in terms of the Tuilagi’s fitness and Itoje is excited about what that could mean for England who are in a tough World Cup pool with France, Argentina, Tonga and USA.

Fresh from putting in one of his own most complete performances ever for England, the try-scoring Itoje said: “Manu is an awesome player, extremely talented and when he is at his best he is an absolute monster,” he told RugbyPass.

“It is great to have him in our side. I have played against him a couple of times at club level and I know how deadly he can be.”

Itoje’s eminence helped turn the Ireland lineout into a disaster area and the lock paid tribute to the coaching of assistant Steve Borthwick and the input from back-up second rows Joe Launchbury and Charlie Ewels in helping to formulate the plan that resulted in the Lions forward and George Kruis, his fellow Saracens jumper, dominate this key area at Twickenham.

“It is a reflection of the work the lineout leaders have done throughout the week and we have a fantastic coach in Steve Borthwick,” said Itoje with less than a month now to go before the start of the World Cup in Japan. 

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“It was a lot better than last week (against Wales in Cardiff) and we just want to keep improving. Today was a good win but we’re not the finished article and there is so much more to come.

“This was Ireland’s first competitive game [they had beaten Italy on August 10], so we know they are not at their best. The challenge is for us to do this wherever we go and we are in a good place.”

Reflecting on Tuilagi’s performance, coach Jones said: “Manu is in a good place and is making coffee for everyone. He is about 80 per cent fit and there is a bit to go and when he gets there he will be a handful. It will be scary to mark him.

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“That is a step up from the Wales game and there is a lot more in us. We got some good ball, we used this combination before and knew it would work. He can play 12 or 13 and Ireland were a bit soft in their defence and line speed.”

WATCH: Part one of Operation Jaypan, the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what the fans can expect to experience at the World Cup finals in Japan

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

33 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

33 Go to comments
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