Saracens and England lock Maro Itoje admitted he never considered missing England’s Test tour of South Africa this summer, Sky Sports report.
If Saracens reach next week’s Premiership final at Twickenham, Itoje will only have a few days to rest before setting off to South Africa with his country, but taking the summer off for a rest was never an option according to Itoje.
There was no conversation with Eddie [England head coach Eddie Jones] about having a rest. I didn’t want to. I feel good. I would have been very upset if that decision was made for me.
Head coach Eddie Jones wants his side to put their Six Nations disappointment to one side by winning a series in South Africa for the first time ever and believes Itoje could play a huge part in that.
Itoje was a key performer in last summer’s British and Irish Lions Test series against world champions New Zealand which ended up in a drawn series.
The lock has also been at the heart of Saracens’ Aviva Premiership title push,
Itoje is set to feature for his club Saturday’s crucial play-off clash against Wasps.
