“The Rise of Maro Itoje: Examining His Impact on England’s Rugby Success”

Maro Itoje watches ahead of the Six Nations Rugby match between England and Scotland at Twickenham Stadium – Getty Images/Julian Finney

“Itoje was calmer than usual – but remains on the way forward”

By Charlie Morgan

We’ve seen from the omissions of Billy Vunipola and Manu Tuilagi – not to mention Jonny Hill, Jonny May and Jack Nowell – that Steve Borthwick won’t be afraid to put his own stamp on this English side with big calls. I believe that Maro Itoje should be part of the way forward.

He has undoubtedly weathered some quieter games over the past year, most notably the Premiership final. The defeat against Scotland on Saturday is probably one of them. Itoje’s greatest strength is defensive disruption and he tends to perform more in games where the opponent dominates possession. Just a year ago against Ireland, he produced one of the best individual performances by an English player in recent memory.

Over the weekend, Ollie Chessum’s carry performance was greater. The Leicester Tigers man covered 49 yards while Itoje managed just five. The latter draws criticism for penalties and conceded a goal in each half – the first for being overweight in the Jackal attempt and the second for failing to retire for offside when Scotland attacked at the top of England’s 22. It should be emphasized that Chessum also recorded two equally avoidable penalties. Otherwise, Itoje collected 12 tackles without missing one.

Only Ben Curry, who made 13 and missed four, completed more for England. As England’s line-out caller, three lost throws and an impotent maul ended up frustrating Itoje. Even so, the variation in the design of Ellis Genge’s attempt was impressive. Itoje dove deeper and hit 44 jerks, according to Opta. Jamie George was next on that list at 43, followed by Chessum at 31. Itoje drained the tank.

England may need a heavier field in games against different sides, which could prompt a rethink if Chessum’s influence continues to grow. Chessum lined up behind his tighthead props in Saturday’s scrum, suggesting he’s the stronger of the two in that area. David Ribbans is a talented player and Courtney Lawes will eventually return but England are undoubtedly lacking a lumpy lock like France’s Paul Willemse.

Joe Launchbury could return into the equation, which could mean a choice of moving Chessum to the blindside or dropping Itoje. The latter, of course, would require someone else to call the line-out. Borthwick will not neglect this important aspect of the game.

“There is no scenario where Itoje is dropped”

By Charles Richardson

Maro Itoje is a victim of his own success. He stormed onto the stage and immediately delivered performances at a breathtakingly high level that he has largely maintained ever since. We judge Itoje at an extremely high level now – and rightly so – but that means if he falls slightly below world class like he did against Scotland it will be noticed and commented on.

For the British and Irish Lions, England and Saracens, Itoje has been a standout player and his impressive club form this season should not be overlooked. A quiet game cannot override that.

Maro Itoje takes on Scotland’s Pierre Schoeman – Getty Images/Alex Davidson

Leading the lineup is a crucial role and it’s hard to judge from the outside how successful that has been. Admittedly England lost three on their own over the weekend but only those in the English camp will be sure who is to blame for these particular incidents. However, the fundamental importance of the line-out caller is beyond dispute, and changing this will bring further disruption to a new setup.

I don’t see a scenario where Steve Borthwick would drop Itoje, which is a stance I agree with.

“The overreaction to Itoje’s recent performances has been hysterical”

By Ben Coles

England shouldn’t miss Maro Itoje and I don’t think they will. Some of the overreaction to his recent performances has bordered on the hysterical, especially as we’re only one game in the Championship.

With England suffering defeat in the opening round and Italy showing plenty of potential and potential against France, Steve Borthwick cannot afford to leave Itoje out.

England only have a few players who could be considered world-class and Itoje is one of them, with injured Tom Curry the other top contender for this group. Itoje’s six or seven out of ten performances are more effective than the nine out of ten performances of most other castles.

I think most international coaches would laugh at anyone in the room who suggested dropping Itoje.

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