Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

'The Springboks straightened us' - Maro Itoje's take on England's loss

By Online Editors
Maro Itoje embraces Tom Curry after England's loss in Yokohama (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Maro Itoje has blamed England giving away too many penalties for their World Cup final defeat to South Africa. Beaten 32-12 on the scoreboard, England conceded ten penalties to South Africa’s eight during the loss in Yokohama. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Five of those indiscretions came at the scrum and Springbok kicker Handre Pollard made England pay off the tee, as he landed six kicks over the course of the 80 minutes. “Probably need a bit more time to process everything, to be honest,” reflected Itoje when asked his thoughts on the result. “The thing that stuck out obviously was we gave away too many penalties.

We didn’t get our game going today, unfortunately, unlike the previous game (against New Zealand). We didn’t come out of the blocks firing like we planned to.”

It was Itoje’s accidental collision that knocked out Kyle Sinckler in the third minute, forcing England into the change that saw Dan Cole come on and struggle at the scrum.

“He [Sinckler] is a big player for us and he’s had some really big performances for us. I’m not too sure what it was. We just didn’t start with the tenacity we planned on starting with. At this point, it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly that is. Sport is cruel sometimes.

(Continue reading below…)

“We’ve been on a good journey. From where we started to where we are now, the team’s grown tighter and tighter. This is the most fun I’ve had in an England side. We’re trying to draw the positives out of the journey.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Very disappointed, gutted we couldn’t get the job done today. It’s meant a lot to a lot of people.  We can work hard for the next opportunity.

“Congratulations to the Springboks. They straightened us. They didn’t allow us to get our game going. We definitely did try hard but we weren’t getting the outcomes we were looking to get.

“I definitely felt we were in the right place. World Cup finals don’t happen too often. Throughout the whole weekend, we were pumped. Everyone was really excited for the opportunity.

“Each game throws up different challenges. Coming into this game we weren’t looking to match last week. We were looking to get better. That’s been the mantra of our team, the mantra of our squad.”

ADVERTISEMENT

WATCH: RugbyPass catches up with some rowdy fans after South Africa lift the World Cup trophy

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

A
Adrian 1 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

8 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'It's an All Black discussion': The pair of young Hurricanes tipped for black jerseys The pair of young Hurricanes tipped for black jerseys
Search