England Rugby: Maro Itoje will ‘come back better’ after rest
England senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth says leaving captain Maro Itoje out of South Africa’s mammoth meeting with the world champions next month is the right thing to do.
Itoje was rested to give him time away from rugby for the match against the Springboks on July 4, as well as tests against Fiji and Argentina the following weekends.
The 31-year-old has exceeded World Rugby’s recommended 30-game limit for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
He captained the British and Irish Lions in Australia last summer and will lead England at next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
“I’m incredibly happy we were able to accommodate him,” Wigglesworth said.
“He’s achieved a lot, not just last year but in the last years of his career, so we’re lucky to have strength in depth in that position, so Maro will get some rest.”
Leicester’s George Martin returned to the England squad after making a comeback from a 14-month injury-related layoff in April, while the development of Northampton lock Alex Coles was one of the few positives of the disappointing Six Nations campaign.
Ollie Chessum, who shone in France’s last-round defeat, is another option in the second row but could also be deployed at blindside. Bath’s Charlie Ewels and Gloucester’s Arthur Clark are also part of the Nations Championship squad.
Wigglesworth, who played alongside Itoje at Saracens and England, backed his captain to “come back better”.
“What Maro does, like everyone else, is use his time really well, so I’m looking forward to catching up with him once he’s had some rest and is flying,” he added.
The new Nations Championship format, which pits six northern hemisphere sides against six southern rivals in a two-Test window and culminates in November weekend play-off matches, has given England a testing schedule.
After playing the Springboks in Johannesburg, they will face Fiji in Liverpool and Argentina in Santiago del Estero.
But Wigglesworth shrugged off concerns about how the trip would affect preparations, adding that Northampton and Exeter players will fly to South Africa with the rest of the squad on Wednesday, despite joining on Monday after competing in last weekend’s Prem final.
“We will act together on this issue,” he said. “This is an exciting challenge that we will not shy away from.
“There will be some adjustments in a few training sessions, but we are well looked after in terms of the way we travel.
“There are people doing things that are much more challenging than some business class flights, so we’ll be vindicated.”
