He did not watch a single game live
He knew the scores. He just chose not to live through them.
Maro Itoje spent the summer away from England. The England captain missed the Nations Championship and the three Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina. While his team-mates were out there, he watched the matches back later, already knowing how they had ended.
“It was odd, really strange,” he told reporters. “I didn’t watch any of the games live. I watched them afterwards, to take some of the emotion out of it.”
That tells you plenty about what a season in Test rugby can take out of a player.
Try it for $0.99.
The idea was not his
Itoje, 31, has gone beyond the 30-game-a-season guideline set by World Rugby. Two years running: 2024/25, then 2025/26. Saracens in the Premiership, England in the summer, the Lions in some years.
It was Steve Borthwick and Phil Morrow, England’s performance chief, who came to him with the suggestion.
“It caught me off guard, mainly because it had never crossed my mind,” he admits. “It wasn’t something I saw as an option. I had it in my head that I just had to get on with it.”
He did not say yes straight away. He thought it through. Then he agreed.
It was the first time since his international debut in 2016 that he had not spent the summer with England.
Mind before body
On his condition, Itoje is straight down the line. The body was fine. The head needed a break.
“I would say the mental recovery was far more important than the physical one. Physically, I was fine at the end of the season,” says the Saracens lock. “Mentally, it had been a heavy, packed year, personally and professionally. It was good to have time to switch off.”
He also takes a swipe at the schedule his team-mates face. Five or six weeks off depending on the club, then three or four weeks of pre-season before the Premiership restarts. There is barely any breathing room.
The target is already set: the 2027 World Cup. “I hope this break has given me what I need to come back better.”
We will find out soon enough whether he was right.
Discover the latest RUGBY news on our mathodds site and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply