Itoje reveals Borthwick had to convince him to skip England's summer Tests for his own good

Maro Itoje has revealed that England head coach Steve Borthwick had to talk him into taking the summer off, with the Lions captain admitting the idea of skipping international rugby had never crossed his mind before Borthwick raised it after the Six Nations.

Borthwick approached Itoje following the conclusion of the Six Nations to discuss a rest period, citing the lock’s workload across the previous two seasons — both of which saw him exceed the recommended 30-game-a-season limit. Itoje subsequently missed England’s summer Tests against Fiji, South Africa and Argentina.

“I was taken aback initially, mainly because it never entered my mind. It was never something that I thought was an option. I kind of have it in my mind that this is the way the cookie crumbles and I have to kind of power through,” Itoje said at the launch of the Premiership season.

“The more I thought about it, the more I kind of agreed with it and the more time that went by, I thought this is the right thing to do. I hope the break has given me what I need to come back a better player.”

Itoje says he has no regrets about missing those matches, pointing in particular to the mental recovery the break afforded him — something he regards as more significant than the physical benefits.

“I feel very good for it, I don’t regret it at all. In some respects it is a little bit weird being away from the team, especially whilst games are going on. But at the same time, I felt like it was the right thing to do,” he said.

“Physically, I am fine, and I was fine at the end of the season. Some of the ailments and niggles that I had in previous seasons have pretty much gone away. But mentally it was a heavy year, a busy year both personally and professionally, so it was nice to have a bit of time to take a breath.”

The 30-year-old also completed his first full pre-season with Saracens in 12 years during the break, a period he credits with restoring his sharpness ahead of the new campaign.

While sabbaticals from international duty are relatively common in New Zealand, Itoje believes the practice could become more widespread in England. He acknowledged that his own near-continuous involvement with both club and country — driven by Saracens’ sustained success in Europe and the Premiership, as well as Lions tours — had left him with little opportunity to step back in previous years.

“Since I have been involved with England, I have been involved in pretty much every campaign,” he said. “I have been very fortunate to have had what I have had. But the consequence of that is that I have tended not to have a break, or the breaks that we have are very short.”

Itoje praised both Borthwick and RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney for reaching the decision and said he is now looking forward to what lies ahead.