McCall hails workaholic Maro Itoje ahead of landmark appearance

Maro Itoje will make his first appearance of the season for Saracens this weekend, desperate to make up for lost time.

Saracens boss Mark McCall has confirmed that the British & Irish Lions captain will return against Sale at the StoneX after sitting out the first rounds of the Prem.

“He was available for selection for last weekend but we, and he, didn’t think he was quite ready and he needed a couple more weeks of hard training to prepare him for this game and I think that was the right decision,” said McCall.

The game that made Maro Itoje a superstar in rugby

The game that made Maro Itoje a superstar in rugby

“It’s great to have Maro. It’s his 200th game for the club when you add on the 93 caps he’s got for England and the nine British and Irish Lions caps it’s a heck of an achievement really to play that much rugby.

“He comes in, he rolls up his sleeves, he works hard during the day, he sets a great example, he’s last off the training field as always.

“He’s been a big player for our club for a long time and he’s desperate to play and get stuck into the season. He’s chomping at the bit.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

3

Draws

0

Wins

2

Average Points scored

42

21

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

60%

Itoje, 30, has played 66 games for club and country over the last two seasons and Saracens are mindful that they need to preserve one of their biggest assets.

But as club captain, the influential second row wants to be back out on the field – especially after an under-par display from the team at Harlequins last weekend.

While Saracens started the season well with two wins, the defeat at The Stoop was a setback.

“That was a performance a long way away from being a benchmark performance for the league and we need to do a lot better than that,” said McCall.

“A season is full of ups and downs and it’s the team that can learn from some of their worst performances who often prevail. Hopefully you’ll see on Saturday that we’ve learned well.”