Refreshed Maro Itoje leads from the front as England deliver performance they needed
“My wife's sleep is a bit more challenging, but she's doing a good job.” Maro Itoje (right) with his wife Mimi (left) and newborn son (Reuters) No doubt the England captain played like a man enjoying the restorative benefits of a break.
Key points
- One botched late lineout where Itoje gifted Australia a try will frustrate a man of exacting standards, though the contrast between England’s last home outing against Ireland could not have been clearer.
- Itoje led England's lineout at Allianz Stadium (PA) On Friday, Itoje had called for his side to set the tone for the autumn; they delivered on that message.
- “That was not the performance that we wanted to put out there.” With a lift in England’s level came a lift in the volume.
Itoje and Ben Curry – influential on his return to Test duty – led the way, largely keeping their discipline as they pilfered and pawed, bar one over-balance from the England skipper.
Additional details
- As captain of Saracens, England and the British and Irish Lions, the 32-year-old lock has been afforded precious little time off across more than a decade at Test level – indeed, his durability has counted against him, with no major injuries of which to speak.
- “Obviously that was a disappointing game, not only because of the outcomes but more the performance,” Itoje recalled.
- England’s captain topped the tackle charts with 16, plenty of them made before the interval in an outstanding defensive effort; at half-time, the hosts had made 75 tackles and missed just two.
- “My sleep is okay actually,” Itoje chuckled this week from the safety of England’s training base.
- After those reports had emerged, the captain and his deputies had summoned the squad for a summit at which they underlined the need to show their faith in their head coach.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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