Maro Itoje was at his imperious best when he helped inspire the Lions to their win in the first Test against the Springboks in the 2021 series behind closed doors. It is arguably the last of those truly towering Itoje displays with which he bestrode the game for the previous four or five years, as he in turn was eclipsed by Eben Etzebeth in the second and third Tests.
Whether or not that experience damaged his confidence, or his form was affected by an unspecified and debilitating condition, or Saracens’ expulsion to the Championship for the 2020-21 season took the edge off his game as it did so many of his club and international team-mates, Itoje has not been quite the same punishingly destructive, high energy, combative force since then.
Etzebeth was a hugely important figure in South Africa’s 29-28 quarter-final win over France last Sunday, not least when his desperate, one-handed intercept prevented France from roaring into an early 14-0 lead, as well as his aerial skills with contestable kicks.
But there have been signs of Itoje rediscovering his mojo too, especially in the 14-man win over Argentina and last week’s quarter-final win over Fiji. It also seemed pointed that when asked if Etzebeth still sets the benchmark for locks, Itoje gave the notion little heed in also not mentioning the spiky Boks lock by name.
“It’s neither here nor there for me,” said the English lock, in that surprisingly softly spoken tone of his. “Obviously he’s a good player. They have four very good second rows. For me it’s about playing the type of game I want to play, playing the type of rugby that I know I can play as an individual and for the whole forward pack it’s about presenting the best of ourselves.”
Itoje had a similar riposte when asked if he and his team-mates were seeking respect from their Springboks’ counterparts. “I’m not looking for any respect from my opposition.”
This was entirely in keeping with the desire of Itoje and the other players presented to the media in the rather grandly named Institut National du Sport de l’expertise et de la performance to the southeast pf Paris. Namely, it was all about England would bring to Saturday’s second semi-final against South Africa, and not putting the Springboks on a pedestal.
“They’re a good team,” said Itoje, which was about the height of his acknowledgment. “Obviously they are the current world champions, they’ve had a very good World Cup. We’ve played them twice since 2019, they’ve won one, we’ve won one. We’re not talking about a team that has never lost, we’re not talking about a team that is without fault. They are a good team but so are we. For us, it’s about putting our game on the field.”
Of course, this is also a repeat of the final four years ago, which South Africa won 32-12 and Itoje is one of 13 survivors in England’s ‘23′ from that day, while the Springboks retain 15 of the same match-day squad.
Yet Itoje et al, ie Steve Borthwick, Owen Farrell, Ben Earl and Joe Marchand, were all again on point in stating that revenge was not a motive, or had any particularly relevance to this meeting.
“We have to play the game that’s in front of us,” Itoje stressed. “We have to play this South African team, not the South African team of however many years ago. This South African team, not the one that they may be after this. We have to be as individuals and as a collective, we have to be really present. We have to be really in the moment to deal with what we need to deal with.”
Itoje spike of a “heightened awareness” within the England squad this week, the appreciation that they needed to deliver, and it’s clear that he himself has accepted a level of personal responsibility in this.
“This is a massive, massive occasion. It’s with occasions being big like this one is, it brings about a huge opportunity. I know my role within the team, I know how important my role is to get the team doing what needs to be done for it to be operating smoothly. And I’m going to be putting my best foot forwards to make sure I do.
“We’re going to need to be physical, that goes without saying. We need to be physical in every game, especially when you play against this opposition. We need to be smart with how we play. We don’t want to make poor decisions. We don’t want to play in areas that aren’t smart. It’s going to be a combination of playing good, physical rugby and being smart with that as well.”
