Maro Itoje could be handed England debut in Six Nations opener against Scotland
Eddie Jones could give Saracens lock Maro Itoje his England debut in the Six Nations opener with Scotland on February 6 after losing Dave Attwood and Ed Slater to serious injury.
Leicester captain Slater is ruled out for up to two months with a knee injury and yesterday Bath revealed Attwood needs neck surgery.
Itoje was dropped surprisingly early by former England head coach Stuart Lancaster from the initial 2015 World Cup squad but the 21-year-old has bounced back with storming performances for Sarries this season.
His main rivals for the England second row are clubmate George Kruis, Wasps’s Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, of Northampton, and Exeter’s Geoff Parling. However, Itoje is the kind of athletic forward and line-out jumper Jones will look at for the clash at Murrayfield.
The Sarries star was named the Aviva Premiership Player of the Month for December.
“This month’s Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Month has shown a maturity on the field way beyond his years all season,” said BT Sport analyst and former England star Austin Healey.
“But it is not just his temperament that makes Maro Itoje stand out as a definite England second row of the future - he possesses great physical attributes and more importantly amazing technique.
“When carrying his hands and timing are excellent, when tackling he is strong and rarely misses, but for me it is at the breakdown where he is best. He has good special awareness in the rucks and often finds a way to bounce to his feet and stay deep in the ruck, therefore using his feet to disrupt possession.
