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Why England 'line in the sand' has invigorated 50-cap Maro Itoje
Maro Itoje will lead England out on Saturday at Twickenham in celebration of the 50th cap for his country invigorated by the possibilities of what can be achieved by a squad overhauled in recent months by Eddie Jones. Itoje’s 48th English cap was an occasion to forget, the team getting hammered by Ireland to leave them finishing in fifth place last March in the Six Nations.
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Since then, head coach Jones has been on a mission to transform his squad and with the 2023 World Cup finals in France now just 22 months away, Itoje believes he has returned to a very different England than the one that limped beaten out of Dublin.
Having been away with the Lions while Jones was checking out some new talent with the summer series versus the USA and Canada, Itoje returned to the England side for last Saturday’s comfortable win over Tonga and he will now be the first out to emerge from the tunnel for the clash versus the Wallabies.
He will run out with a fresh spring in his step thanks to the Jones overhaul, which also included the appointment of new assistants in the guise of Richard Cockerill and Anthony Seibold. “Things do feel new,” reckoned Itoje.
“Eddie has talked a lot about drawing a line in the sand after the Lions tour and all heads are looking forward as opposed to looking back. Things do feel invigorated, things do feel fresh and it’s exciting.
It has been an incredible week for the 21-year-old Rodd who started it at Sale and will end it as the starting England loosehead versus Australia#England #ENGvAUS #AutumnNationsSeries #Wallabies #Sharks https://t.co/Ay3cxcMFNK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 12, 2021
“The coaches are fantastic. They have come in, brought their own flavour to things. They have brought an increased level of detail. It feels as if they have propelled the team forward. They are really committed, they really work hard and the mix of personalities and flavours has really put the team in a good place.
“In terms of the new players, everyone felt a little bit new coming into this camp because it was essentially a new team, a new mix of people, a new mix of personnel so it feels like a new team. We want to get a few games under our belt and this weekend you don’t really get too many opportunities like this, it’s wonderful.”
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It should be for Itoje. Essentially it is his 57th Test appearance as he has played a half-dozen for the Lions, including appearances in all three encounters with the Springboks in the recent series in Cape Town.
But the 27-year-old who debuted for England in 2016 is chuffed to clock up his 50th cap for his country. “It is one of the great honours in my life to do this. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity, incredibly grateful to be part of this group and I am really happy to be here.”
Much of the focus versus the Wallabies will on Marcus Smith in his first match versus a tier-one nation. Itoje has backed the out-half to go well. “I shared a room last week with Marcus, we have changed now.
“Marcus is a brilliant individual, he is a very down to earth type of guy. He is extremely talented, there is not really too much a need to say. He is an extremely talented young man, he has a good head on his shoulders and he will be just fine.”
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The England skipper has also spoken about his isolation last week and what will happen for Itoje's 50th England cap on same day Farrell plays his 100th Test#England #ENGvAUS #AutumnNationsSeries #Wallabies
https://t.co/oyQfVesuYG— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 12, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe 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….
84 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!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 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.
13 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.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 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?
13 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?
45 Go to comments