The Rugby Pod's burning question: 'What does it do to Maro's brand by playing in the Championship?'
It’s still unclear whether Championship-bound Saracens will have Maro Itoje to call on in 2020/21. The London club have been automatically relegated to the English second tier, but is that level of rugby sufficient for a player who could potentially captain the Lions on their 2021 tour to South Africa?
Itoje had a possible loan switch to Racing scuppered because Premiership rivals were against the prospect of Eddie Jones selected a player for England who wasn’t based in the country.
Speculation that he might also switch to Leicester, who have Steve Borthwick coming on board as head coach, was also dismissed by Geordan Murphy, the Tigers director of rugby insisting there was nothing in the link that Itoje could play at Welford Road under the forwards coach he had worked with at England and the Lions.
This current limbo points towards Itoje sticking with Saracens as they prepare to embark on a discovery trip around the Championship, the unglamorous English league that even the RFU recently halved its grant funding to.
Jim Hamilton, Itoje’s ex-Allianz Park team-mate, just can’t see it happening, the potential Lions skipper turning up at places like Cornish Pirates and Coventry over the winter. Pondering this curious situation on the latest edition of The Rugby Pod, Hamilton reckoned playing in the Championship would damage Brand Maro and put the skids on him potentially becoming a sports megastar known around the world outside rugby.
“The big one is Maro Itoje. He has not come out (and said) – neither has Mako Vunipola – in terms of what they are doing next season,” said Hamilton on the show he fronts with Andy Goode. “I texted Maro actually last week having watched The Last Dance documentary.
“I’m not saying that I see completely parallels with Michael Jordan and Maro Itoje, but I do see some similar opportunities for Maro being the kind of player that he is and the standing he has in the game. I just wonder what that will do.
“Unfortunately what I’m about to say now hasn’t been bandied about in rugby before in the public domain and probably around team environments, but what does it do to Maro’s brand by playing in the Championship?
“There is talks of Maro potentially being the Lions captain. Does playing a season in the Championship in the lead-up to that put him in a good position to do the Lions? But also the brand – Adidas who sponsor him, all the other sponsors – it’s a big decision for him to make and he has not come out yet and said he is definitely staying at Saracens.
“He hasn’t got a lot to gain by playing in the Championship. He doesn’t need rest, he needs exposure, he needs his profile to stay where ever it is. Unfortunately some people might disagree with me. They might not like him, they might not like that side of rugby, but I love it.
“Maro has got a real opportunity in rugby to be the first megastar that we have seen and I just don’t know if playing in the Championship, even if there are exhibition games (as well), even if there are different training programmes for England, whether that will suit someone like Maro in the position he is in who needs to play a lot.”
Having announced earlier this week they would be keeping up-and-coming lock Joel Kpoku, Saracens revealed on Wednesday they had signed Aled Davies on a three-year deal, the scrum-half opting to come to London and sacrifice his Wales selection prospects.
Ex-England international Goode believes other signings will follow as Saracens will aim to keep stars suxh as Itoje off their feet as much as possible in the Championship. “When you look at it, what are they preparing for now because who knows when the (current) season is going to restart again?
“They are making noises around some signings because they know they are going have to balance their squad around having superstars like Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell, all the guys that won’t be running out at Ampthill I very much doubt or Doncaster or whatever other grounds they will be playing at in the Championship.
“But also at the minute we are sat there going, do they make signings to get them through? They have let certain players leave the club on loan. What would happen to those players if it [the Premiership] did get ring fenced?
“There is noises around Juan Pablo Soccino going to Saracens to be a kind of filler for Owen Farrell because ultimately Owen Farrell will be driven by playing some big games for Saracens if there are any, England internationals and building up towheads the Lions tour, and then I’m hearing about Matt Garvey to Saracens as well.
“It’s difficult to know what is going in the world. There is a lot of players out of contract at the minute around the world who are probably looking and nervously waiting to see how long this takes to get back to playing to see if any clubs have got any money to make some signings.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
65 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments