- Maro Itoje will go past Martin Johnson’s total England caps this weekend
- But Itoje is focused on picking up big wins against southern hemisphere sides
- England face New Zealand on Saturday as their autumn series begins
Maro Itoje has urged England to take on Martin Johnson’s winning mindset as the lock prepares to surpass the great captain of the 2003 World Cup-winning team.
Itoje will win his 85th England cap when he starts for Steve Borthwick‘s men in their crunch autumn opener with New Zealand on Saturday.
It will take him past legendary lock figure Johnson, who ended his career with 84 but with his trophy cabinet full to bursting.
Like Johnson, Itoje will be remembered as an England second row great. But at 30, he still has a lot left to give. He insists it’s time England’s new-look class of 2024 begin to record some statement victories – as Johnson did – starting with the All Blacks this weekend.
‘The big thing is not just about racking up caps,’ Itoje said.
Maro Itoje wants England to make a statement by beating southern hemisphere giants this autumn
Itoje will earn his 85th cap this weekend – one more than England’s World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson – but he is more focused on being part of a big win
Itoje has flourished against New Zealand before, and will hope to do so again on Saturday
‘What Martin Johnson did was win. He won Six Nations and big games against southern hemisphere teams. Whilst I’ve also done that in my career, there’s more to come.
‘Him (Johnson) and some of the other guys of yesteryear set the standard in terms of winning. As a team, that’s what we want to build towards. We want to win.
‘I don’t want to just get to a high number of caps for it to look good on my rugby CV. I want to be part of winning England teams.’
Itoje is hardly a stranger to success having won Six Nations grand slams with England, represented the British & Irish Lions on two tours, and lifted a string of domestic and European trophies with Saracens – the club he now captains.
But like his current crop of England team-mates, the 30-year-old accepts the national team now need to come out on the right side of the result in big Test matches.
England head coach Borthwick has introduced a new, attacking approach which has excited supporters. But it wasn’t enough to beat New Zealand in a 2-0 series defeat in July.
This weekend, England hope to enact revenge on home soil.
England were narrowly beaten by New Zealand twice in the summer
Itoje feels England are ready to take the next step as they continue to develop their attacking game under Steve Borthwick
‘We reflect back on the summer and whilst we made big strides forward and had big things we can hang our hat on, we feel that particularly in the last quarter we did things we hope not to do again. We hope to be a bit smarter to change that,’ Itoje said.
‘The growth of this team is to change those narrow defeats into narrow wins and then big wins down the line. Whenever you play the All Blacks, it’s an incredible opportunity.
‘It’s one of the great games to be a part of. Every time I’ve played the All Blacks it’s been a big game, a big occasion. I have no doubt Saturday won’t be any different.
‘I’m ready. The team is ready to take that next step.’
