Maro Itoje says his late mother, Florence, will be at Twickenham in spirit when the England captain wins his 100th cap in the Six Nations showdown with Ireland on Saturday.
After Florence died in December, the Saracens second-row was absent from the start of England’s pre-tournament training camp in Girona to attend her funeral in Nigeria.
Steve Borthwick’s side must beat Ireland to keep their championship hopes afloat after a sobering defeat in Scotland last Saturday, and the 31-year-old said his pride in reaching a century of international caps would be tinged with sadness.
“In many ways it’s a great milestone but it will obviously be a little bit sad that my mother is not there to witness this,” Itoje said. “I know she would have loved the occasion and loved everything about it. She’s not physically there but I believe she’s spiritually there – she’ll be cheering on from heaven.”
He said reaching 100 caps “feels amazing. Full of pride, happiness, joy and excitement … there’s my individual excitement but I’m more excited for the team, for us to get out there together and put on a really good performance.”
England’s defeat at Murrayfield ended a run of 12 consecutive victories and, while the grand slam dream is gone, Itoje insisted they were capable of winning their remaining three championship matches to compete for the title. “It was frustrating, that is a fair judgment,” he said of the 31-20 loss against Gregor Townsend’s side. “We have to win all the other games. That is well within our capability. I don’t think that is asking us to climb a mountain – we just need to make sure we focus on putting in the performance we are capable of.
“There were some key fundamental areas which weren’t good enough: the collision, in the air. We need to bounce back and play with energy and vitality, start attacking the game right from the off. If we do that I think we’ll have a good result this weekend.”
Itoje’s England debut came a decade ago under Eddie Jones – a 40-9 victory away against Italy when he came off the bench for James Haskell. Asked for his memories of that day in Rome, Itoje explained how he has learned to manage the highly charged emotions of international rugby more effectively. “I was really nervous. At the start of my career I didn’t have a full understanding of how to regulate emotions leading up to a Test match,” Itoje said. “I remember thinking: ‘I’m not sure if I can do this every week,’ because I was putting myself through emotional turmoil.
“Every game is a huge occasion but building so much emotional energy towards it, I probably would have had a heart attack or stroke if I didn’t change my prep.”
Henry Pollock of Northampton will line up at No 8 against Ireland, his first start for England after seven appearances from the bench. Kevin Sinfield, the assistant coach, was asked if he had ever encountered a player like the famously energetic Pollock, including during his rugby league career. “I’ve never worked with anybody like that,” Sinfield said. “I’ve never played with anybody like that. Not at his age.
“To bring what he brings – I’ve been around loud players, I’ve been around noisy players, but they haven’t been as good as him and they haven’t been as focused as him. Behind the bravado and what Henry is, there’s a fantastic rugby player there.”
Itoje, who will face several Ireland players he captained on last summer’s victorious British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, added of Pollock: “I think there is a steeliness to him that is perhaps hidden in the energy that he exudes. He does have a toughness and a steeliness to him. The more he plays at this level the more people will see it.”