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Racing admit defeat in bold attempt to sign Maro Itoje - report

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Jacky Lorenzetti has admitted defeat in Racing 92’s ambitious plan to secure the services of Maro Itoje next season. With Saracens set for demotion to the Championship for repeated breaches of the Gallagher Premiership salary cap, Racing made a play to bring the England and Lions second row to the Top 14 for a season.

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The reported seven-figure loan deal sparked a row among other Premiership owners who were unwillingly to allow Itoje play for a club abroad and still represent England. 

This was despite national team coach Eddie Jones being apparently amenable to allowing his star lock spend a year in the French league and still be available to play for the 2019 World Cup finalists during the 2020/21 Test calendar window. 

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Ellis Genge takes on Denis Buckley in the quarter-finals of the RugbyPass FIFA charity tournament

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Ellis Genge takes on Denis Buckley in the quarter-finals of the RugbyPass FIFA charity tournament

The loan deal report first emerged on March 13, the same weekend England were due to play away to Italy in the now deferred conclusion to the Guinness Six Nations. 

Now, nearly four weeks later, Lorenzetti has accepted that his bold attempt to sign one of the stars of the world game has been scuppered. 

“We saw it, yes. It makes you dream,” said the Racing president in the latest edition of Midi Olympique, the French rugby bi-weekly publication. 

“We are very close to the ceiling of the salary cap. And then, we are already very well off in the second row with (Donnacha) Ryan, (Dominic) Bird, (Boris) Palu… finally, there were complex agreements on this file with Saracens.

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“I do not say that the club who signs Itoje next year will not respect the salary cap but hey… the conditions were special. In any case, he will not be with us.”

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Bull Shark 6 minutes ago
Rassie Erasmus' Boks selection policy is becoming bizarre

To be fair, the only thing that drives engagement on this site is over the top critiques of Southern Hemisphere teams.


Or articles about people criticizing southern hemisphere teams.


Articles regarding the Northern Hemisphere also tend to be more positive than critical. I guess to also rile up kiwis and Saffers who seem to be the majority of followers in the comments section.


Despite being dialled into the Northern edition - I know sweet fokall about what’s going on in France.


And even less than fokall about what’s cutting in Japan - which has a fast growing, increasingly premium League competition emerging.


And let’s not talk about the pacific. Do they even play rugby Down there.


Oh and the Americas. I’ve read more articles about a young, stargazing Welshman’s foray into NFL than I have anything related to either the north and south continents of the Americas.


I will give credit that the women’s game is getting g decent airtime. But pat of the above is just pathetic coming from a World Rugby website.


Just consider the innovation emerging in Japan with the pedigree of coaches over there.


There’s so much good we could be reading.


Instead it’s unimaginative “critical for the sake of feigning controversial”. Which is lazy, because in order to pull that off all you need to be really good at is:


1. Being a doos;

2. Having an opinion.


No prior experience needed.


Which is not journalism. That’s like all or most of us in the comments section.


Anyway. Hopefully it will get better. The game is growing and the interest in the game is growing. Maybe it will attract more qualified journalists over time.

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