Neither too high, nor too low
“You don’t want to get too high with the praise, and you don’t want to get too low with the criticism.” That’s the rule Maro Itoje has leaned on for years, and the Saracens and England captain took time to unpack it further.
It comes down to balance built over time, he says. A sharp read on his own limits, and the discipline to focus only on what he can actually control out on the pitch.
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A message for the next generation
Itoje also had words for the younger players breaking into the England squad. Keep the main thing the main thing, he tells them, and trust the people you actually know rather than the noise swirling around. Outside opinion, in his words, is “white noise”, a distraction that has to be filtered out if you want to keep a clear head.
That advice carries weight coming from him. Itoje has already passed 100 caps for England, a number that puts him among the greatest locks the country has produced.
Expected back this weekend
The 31-year-old spent the summer recharging away from the national setup. He’s due back in action for Saracens on September 27 against Leicester Tigers. After that, his sights turn to England duty, with a return pencilled in for the November fixtures in the Nations Championship.
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