He gave away one penalty and managed to retain more control, while imposing himself in trademark fashion. His hope is that the way he played may help to ensure he is not pre-judged by officials as trouble. Itoje provided a timely solution to salvage honour and hope from this campaign'There is outside noise saying that Maro Itoje gives away a lot of penalties,' he said. 'Playing in that game and giving away what I gave away was not ideal. Itoje was measured and controlled as he gave away just one penalty against FranceItoje insisted that the English effort against France did not represent a 'gold standard'England responded in kind.

Source: The Nation March 15, 2021 00:00 UTC