Leinster boss Cullen gives verdict on Itoje

There has been plenty said about the form of Maro Itoje recently. In the aftermath of England’s defeat to Ireland in the Six Nations, Sir Clive Woodward stated that he felt the second row was “out on his feet”, citing the summer tour with the British and Irish Lions as the reason.

Meanwhile, England head coach Eddie Jones believes that Itoje is suffering from “second season syndrome”.

But Saracens head coach Mark McCall has rubbished those suggestions.

“There are things that have been written about certain players that aren’t all that accurate and aren’t really based on any data”.

Now Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has had his say. The former second row with Ireland, Leinster and Leicester, is well able to assess the form of Itoje – with Saracens looming in the Champions Cup quarter-finals on Easter Sunday.

“From what I have seen at Saracens, he’s a very good competitor, even at the weekend (against Ireland). I thought he was one of the standouts for England really during that (Six Nations) campaign.”

“It is always a balance in terms of game-time for players, minutes, and what is the appropriate minutes. For us we are focused on ourselves and how we manage our own players.”

The IRFU central contract system is envy of other national unions, with the workload carefully managed for elite players. It’s certainly yielded benefits for the likes of Johnny Sexton.

“The way he (Sexton) plays, he’s so fully committed, he is always going to take the odd bang and knock during games and that is just the way he plays and he is so committed to the cause. So it is important that we manage him. He has reported back pretty well considering the knocks he would have shipped over the course of five games in the Six Nations, he’s in good shape.”

Cullen will need his outhalf to be at his best if they’re to eliminate the two-times defending European champions, when they meet at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

“They know how to win, they’ve won Premiership titles, they’ve won Champions Cups. It is going to be a huge challenge. Obviously Saracens have come off winning the (Champions Cup) trophy in the last two years, they’re going for three-in-a-row. They scraped into the quarter-finals, but they’ve been the best team in Europe for the last two or three seasons, so we’re certainly not underestimating the challenge that awaits us.”

Cullen earned 32 international caps and played an influential role in successful Leinster and Leicester sides. He captained the Irish province to two Heineken Cups, in 2011 and 2012, and has no concerns over a lack of focus from his Grand Slam contingent who’ve returned to club duties.

“Teams that get success, they like that feeling of success, they want to push on and they understand what it takes. I think the group are keen to push on and do some special things together. There are certain players who missed out on playing a role in Ireland’s Grand Slam and those players will drive the group.”

Cullen also revealed to RugbyPass that Robbie Henshaw “won’t be a million miles away” from playing in the latter stages of the season. The centre’s shoulder injury, which he picked up while scoring a try against Italy in the Six Nations, is progressing well.

“It is still pretty early days with Robbie. The good thing is that he has got big games on the horizon to look forward to.”