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Saracens statement: Maro Itoje contract extension

Saracens' Maro Itoje (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)

England lock Maro Itoje has committed his club future to Saracens after agreeing to an unspecified length contract extension at the club.

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There were fears that the forward might seek out a move as he was reportedly set to lose his marquee player status if Owen Farrell also agreed to a contract extension with the Londoners.

However, Farrell’s decision earlier in January to move to Racing 92 for the 2024/25 season on a two-year deal instead paved the way for Itoje to agree on new terms at Saracens where he no longer faces a reduction in his salary under the existing cap rules. He will also be in receipt of an enhanced elite player contract from the RFU.

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Stuart Lancaster discusses Owen Farrell’s move to Racing 92

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Stuart Lancaster discusses Owen Farrell’s move to Racing 92

Itoje is currently in Girona with England ahead of this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener versus Italy and a club statement read: “Saracens are delighted to announce that Maro Itoje has signed a new long-term contract at the club.

“The second-rower, who has been a leading figure in the sport over the last decade is one of the most decorated players in world rugby and has now committed his future to the men in black.

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“Itoje, who has made 175 appearances for the club since bursting on to the scene in 2013 is a five-time Premiership champion, three-time European champion, 2016 European player of the year and also a three-time world player of the year nominee.

“His meteoric rise both domestically and internationally has also seen him gain 76 caps for England including featuring in two World Cups, as well as six caps for the Lions across the 2017 tour to New Zealand and 2021 to South Africa where he was named the Lions player of the series.

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“The 29-year-old made his Saracens debut aged just 19 a decade ago in 2013 and, after captaining a young side to LV= Cup success, he quickly made the transition to a regular in the Gallagher Premiership.

“He has since featured in five Premiership successes at Twickenham, cementing his place as one of the greats at StoneX Stadium. Maro has also been offered an enhanced EPS contract from the RFU.”

Itoje said: “Saracens is my home, and I couldn’t be happier to be staying here. Looking back, I am very proud of what we have achieved over the last 10 years and it is the best place for me to keep progressing. With the squad we have I really believe we have some massively exciting times ahead and I can’t wait to be a part of it moving forward.”

Director of Rugby Mark McCall added: “Maro has gone from a promising academy prospect to a global figure in Rugby. He is a world-class player, but what sets Maro apart is his dedication to his craft; the standard he sets, how he goes about his work and how this expresses his love for the club and for the game.

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“We are delighted he will continue to be at the heart of the Saracens project. We know the best of Maro is yet to come.”

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J
JW 3 hours 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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