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England captaincy debate reopens after latest display

England/ PA

England lock Maro Itoje is “back to his best” according to the members of The Rugby Pod, with Jim Hamilton wondering whether handing him the captaincy would raise his game to “another level”.

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Despite being on the losing side, the 85-cap lock put in a monumental effort against the All Blacks at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, wreaking havoc on the visitors’ lineout and popping up in some crucial positions with ball in hand, particularly in the first half.

While the 30-year-old has put in his share of standout performances for Saracens, England, and the British and Irish Lions across his career, the frequency of those performances has perhaps reduced in recent years, with Itoje admitting to battling an underlying health issue.

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But The Rugby Pod host Hamilton believes his former Saracens team-mate is back to the level he was earlier in his career, stating England have lacked players on that level in recent years.

Itoje was one of the candidates to take over as England captain earlier this year after Owen Farrell stepped away, and while Jamie George got the nod from Steve Borthwick, Hamilton believes the lock is playing like a captain currently, and has questioned whether handing him the extra responsibility will only improve his game.

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That is exactly what Saracens have done this season, making six-cap Lion club captain ahead of the new season, where he will lead his England skipper George. With the Lions tour at the England of the season, Itoje is also one of the front runners to lead Andy Farrell’s side in Australia.

George has led England well this year, but he is four years Itoje’s senior, which means this discussion will only surface again.

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“I think it shows the importance of Maro Itoje,” Hamilton said when reflecting on England’s performance against the All Blacks.

“I think England have lacked him not being at his best, giving away a lot of penalties, but I think he’s now back to his best. It’s not just the lineout — England’s lineout was brilliant — but almost like the DNA of the team.

“You go through the ‘Old Guard’ of England. I know the 2003 lads were walking around the pitch, and I hate to reference that because it almost feels like a lifetime ago, but the likes of a Johnno, and these iconic figures that England had. England have lacked that over recent years. They’ve been so reliant on big personalities like Owen Farrell and the Vunipola brothers, and those players, as opposed to having one guy where you’re s***ting yourself coming out the tunnel.

“I think Maro, at that level, is a player who, at any moment in time, whether or not it’s in a lineout, he’s going to steal the lineout, not just in the air, but on the floor. He’s going to disrupt the maul, get a turnover in the breakdown as well. But he’s going to be that niggle around the kick chase, tapping balls back, not necessarily on his carry, but in every instance you’re actually worried about a player, and Maro’s now back at that level. I thought he was absolutely world-class.

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“And then the question could be, because we’ve asked this question about Maro — I’m not saying Jamie isn’t good enough to be captain – but does someone like Maro? I know he’s vice-captain, a leader, he’s playing like a captain when you watch him play. Maybe that captaincy at some point takes him on to another level.”

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1 Comment
L
Lulu 13 days ago

Enjoy the way he plays. The over the top celebrating is annoying. I think that's definitely a mark against him for captaincy .

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JW 58 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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