Eddie Jones hails Maro Itoje after stunning start to England career
Sunday 13 March 2016 22:46, UK
Eddie Jones says Maro Itoje's scintillating performances for England are making it difficult to ease him into international rugby.
Jones has been trying to look after the Saracens lock, who only won his third cap in the 25-21 victory over Wales that secured the Triple Crown for England.
Scotland's win over France on Sunday made sure of a first Six Nations title for England since 2011, and they now head to France next weekend with the aim of winning the Grand Slam.
And Jones says he has no choice but to 'let Itoje go' after keeping him out of the spotlight as much as possible across the tournament, while still guarding him against over-confidence.
"I've been trying to look after him, I've [limited] his exposure to the media but I've got to let him go now," Jones said.
"As long as he stays hungry and doesn't get too far ahead of himself, he's going to be a wonderful player.
"It's very easy for any player to get too far ahead of himself. It only takes one person to twist their head and they get too far ahead of themselves.
"Just because you are academically smart doesn't make you street-smart, and to be a sustainable success in rugby you have to be street-smart.
"I always thought he had raw potential. There were some areas of his game that drastically needed re-doing to be a Test player and he's worked on that and come through."
Itoje's rapid rise through the ranks led Jones to liken him to a Vauxhall Viva car when he was handed his England debut, with the Australian joking he was looking to turn him into a BMW.
Jones said after Saturday's win that transformation had already just about been completed, but Itoje said he had been left confused by his coach's comments and even had to look up what a Viva was - a popular small family car from the 1960s and 1970s.
"I had to Google it, to be honest. I didn't know what a Viva was. I obviously knew what Vauxhall was but not a Viva. So I had to Google it to find out what it was," Itoje said.
"The coach knows best. I wouldn't exactly describe myself as that but the coach is obviously a very knowledgeable man who knows what he's talking about."
