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Farrell and Itoje unimpressed with England omission

Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell in action for Saracens

Eddie Jones revealed Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje “hated” being rested for England’s clash with Argentina on Saturday but said they must accept “I run the team”.

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British and Irish Lions duo Farrell and Itoje will play no part in the Six Nations champions’ first autumn international due to their “exceptional workloads” this season.

England head coach Jones said the Saracens men were not impressed with being given a weekend off, but is adamant it is in their best interests.

“They hate it, which is a great reaction. They hate it because they want to play every Test,” said the canny Australian.

“They are proud of playing for England and they want to be part of a winning team. We have got to convince them that it is in their best interests for this period of time.

“They’ve had exceptional workloads. They’ve played all three [Lions] Tests, played consistently for their clubs, played consistently for us and we feel it’s in their best interests to do some conditioning work.

“They have got to understand I run the team. I make the decisions. It comes down to my gut feeling for what they need.

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“It’s a bit like being a horse trainer. You get all this information but you’ve got to look at the person and see what they are ready to do.”

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Another 8 hours ago
Razor's 2024 All Blacks Christmas wish list

"It seems like the idea of Ardie Savea moving to openside flanker is no longer on the table"


Says who? Savea was picked on the open side, with Wallace Sititi at 8, against France. It makes no difference to Savea’s game, whatsoever and allows Sititi to play in his preferred position. It also provides an option to bring in a third loose forward that may provide a better lineout option and a big body to compete with some of the big bodies found in other teams.


It was unfortunate that Finau was injured so early on against France before he had a chance to show how he might combine with Savea and Sititi, and there is still a possibility that Hoskins Sotutu might be effective alongside them too.


Don’t count out viable options.

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