“Who’s using the Dictaphone?” Maro Itoje breaks convention and asks the first question as reporters gather around him. The England forward is grinning as he slides into a chair that looks three sizes too small for his 6ft 5in frame. Before we begin he fires off another: “You going to write in shorthand?”
That is what a first Six Nations win of 2023 can do for morale. Itoje is ordinarily an upbeat character off the field whose interests lie beyond the boundary. But he cuts a particularly calm figure at the Lensbury Resort in Teddington where England have been holed up after their 31-14 victory over Italy.
“It was a step in the right direction,” Itoje says, reflecting on a win that came a week after England gave up a late lead at Twickenham to lose 29-23 to Scotland. “It was better than the week before. We’re still not perfect. As a team we just want to keep moving forward, week by week, day by day. Hopefully the accumulation of those steps will put us in the right stead.”
Steve Borthwick has sought to temper expectations as he rebuilds a team that he said “weren’t good at anything” before he inherited them. After the Italy win the new man in charge singled out Itoje as the embodiment of the incremental progress that is needed across the squad. “Wow, that is actually the first time I’m hearing of it,” Itoje says. “As a player I just want to keep on improving, keep giving a better account of myself.”
Like every England player on record, he cites his new coach’s attention to detail. Borthwick won 57 caps, captaining England in 21 Tests, and earned a reputation as a lineout general. When he turned to coaching he would look to tweak the smallest variables – the position of a lineout lifter’s thumb here, the twitch of a jumper’s torso there. His approach has worked. Leicester’s title run last season was built on a formidable set piece and maul.
“As a lineout caller, that was Steve’s bread and butter when he was playing,” says Itoje. “There have been numerous things that we’ve had in our discussions. Like what I’m looking at, the cues that I can pick up in terms of a player’s body position in the lineout. He’s incredibly detailed. He’s very clear, very consistent on standards.”
Itoje’s burgeoning second-row partnership with the 22-year-old Ollie Chessum has been one of the more encouraging signs of the Borthwick regime. Two Tests is hardly a large sample but this has the makings of a complementary union that compensates for the other’s weaknesses, just like all successful lock pairings.
“He’s been great,” says Itoje. “He’s a sharp guy. He’s diligent around the lineout and he’s playing well. Our understanding of one another is building. A lot of these things, it’s spending time together, learning how each other thinks. It makes those movements and that relationship on the pitch seamless. That is what we’re working on.”
Time is a luxury that is earned with results. Itoje, who turns 29 on the day of the World Cup final this year, has been around long enough to know that the only currency that counts at this level is winning.
“No one wants to watch a team that is incredibly exciting lose,” he says. “But as players we want to play a great brand of rugby that is attractive for the fans to watch. So it’s not either or. Naturally we want to win. At the end of the day winning is probably the most important thing.”
England are a long way off challenging Ireland and France for European supremacy and, after the defeat by Scotland, even third place in this year’s championship could be a challenge. But a win in Wales next Saturday must surely be the least of their ambitions.
England will face a team that have been rocked by a pay dispute. On Thursday senior players walked out of a meeting with the Welsh Rugby Union and Saturday’s game is in jeopardy with the threat of a strike looming. If the game does go ahead, an already intimidating venue for visiting Englishmen will be even more hostile.
“It’s probably the noisiest,” Itoje says of Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, where England have lost on their last three visits. “I remember the first time I was screaming at [a teammate about two metres away] and he couldn’t hear me. The fans give England a warm reception as well. I’ve seen a lot of people that I would describe as grandmothers throw some choice fingers towards our bus.
“I love it. It creates a better environment in the stadium for fans and players. I definitely don’t want a quiet stadium. The louder the better.”
Now that Borthwick has his first win, the noise from the England camp this week has taken on a different tone, more hopeful and relaxed, especially when Itoje is doing the talking.
