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
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments