Maro Itoje will play at No 6 for England, says Pat Sanderson
Thursday 13 October 2016 17:12, UK
Pat Sanderson believes Maro Itoje has the attributes to play at No 6 for England during the autumn internationals, with Chris Robshaw at No 7.
Under Eddie Jones, England have won all of their nine matches to climb from eighth to second in the world rankings, with just New Zealand ahead of them.
England will kick-off their autumn series against South Africa followed by matches against Fiji, Argentina and Australia as they look to build on a successful summer whitewash of the Wallabies.
James Haskell excelled in the No 7 jersey during the tour of Australia, but a toe injury has ruled him out of the November Tests, while Jack Clifford, Sam Jones and Mike Williams have also been ruled out.
However, former England No 7 Sanderson believes Jones has enough options in his squad to compensate for the loss of players through injury.
"This is being called a back row crisis, but I really do not see that as I don't think England are necessarily missing out," Sanderson told skysports.com.
"By that, I mean Jones was still deciding how to replace James Haskell and that is why the squad was so full of options. He may have lost a few of them but there is still plenty of talent there.
"I think it depends on whether he thinks the answer is within his squad and makes the best of what he has got available.
"If he goes down that route, then moving Maro Itoje to No 6 and Chris Robshaw to No 7 would be the obvious thing.
"He does not need an out-and-out fetcher, as Itoje and Billy Vunipola - who will no doubt play at No 8 - both have been excellent at the breakdown. They are not your traditional jackal, over the ball type backrowers. Billy is such a big man that he doesn't need to get his body down to be effective - he gets turnovers every weekend for Saracens.
"Itoje is also very, very physical through the contact zones and is also very competitive at the breakdown and securing turnovers. What you may lose in having someone close to the ground, you more than make up for by the physicality they bring. Itoje is also another lineout option so I will be surprised if Jones does not go with him."
Openside role for Itoje?
Itoje has also got the backrow backing of Saracens boss Mark McCall, who believes the 21-year-old has all the attributes to make an excellent No 7.
"Maro is a very destructive player and I think he would do a great job," McCall said.
"For someone who is as tall as he is, Maro's outstanding over the ball. He gets as many turnovers as anybody in the Premiership.
"When it's not there to get over the ball, Maro is very good at making a mess of opposition attacking breakdowns.
"He carries the ball well, he reads the game well and he's another line-out option in the back-row. It would make England's line-out pretty formidable to have a seven like that."
"Time will tell with Maro because we haven't really seen him yet at openside. It's a good point that he has played so well in the second row. There must be a temptation to leave him where he is."
Unlucky Kvesic
Allowing time for players to develop is something Sanderson is keen on and the former Worcester man says Matt Kvesic should be involved in the England squad, but has not been given the opportunity to grow at the highest level.
"For whatever reason, Eddie just does not like him, but I have always been a massive fan of Matt Kvesic," added Sanderson.
"I watched him grow up and develop into the player he is today. I watched him as an 18-year-old and I would have put an awful lot of money on him having 50 caps for England, the fact that he doesn't shows to me that the system has let him down.
"He is a great player with a great attitude and I personally would have subjected him to international rugby a long time ago. Great internationals are not born, they are forged by exposure to the very highest levels. The one thing Kvesic has not had is that prolonged exposure at the highest level."
Springbok challenge
Twickenham has been a happy hunting ground for South Africa in recent years, having won the last five Tests, with their last defeat at the stadium coming in 2006.
The Springboks are going through some transformation of their own but Sanderson says they will still bring their traditional physical game, which he believes is another reason to have Itoje in the backrow.
"South Africa have never been an on the floor or over the ball team - people will scream and shout and say what about Schalk Burger or Heinrich Brussow, but first and foremost they are a physical side. They look to dominate the collisions and if you dominate the collisions then you dominate the breakdown and that is where South Africa underpin their entire game.
"They may be having some tough times at the moment but I don't expect that Springbok physicality to change in the autumn. For that reason having real physicality in the pack is going to be enormously important, so get two big lumps in the second row and Itoje at No 6.
"For me that has a good balance - you have a real workhorse in Robshaw, the physicality of Itoje, and the ball carrying capabilities of Vunipola."
