Maro Itoje becomes latest star to commit future to Saracens despite relegation from the Premiership for breaking the salary cap
- Itoje has become the latest high-profile player to commit his future to Saracens
- The England and Lions lock explored the possibility of a loan move to France
- He opted to stay after receiving assurances from England coach Eddie Jones
England star Maro Itoje has signed a long-term contract with Saracens and committed to spending a year in the Championship.
The Lions lock explored the possibility of a loan move to France, but has opted to stay put after receiving assurances from Red Rose coach Eddie Jones.
As revealed by Sportsmail last month, the 25-year-old has followed Owen Farrell, Jamie George, Elliot Daly and Mako and Billy Vunipola by putting pen to paper.
Maro Itoje has become the latest high-profile player to commit his future to Saracens
‘I’m massively excited to be a part of this club,’ said Itoje. ‘I’ve been part of Saracens since I was 14-years-old, and we’ve had some great memories.
‘The culture at Saracens is second to none and I think that’s evident for everyone to see.
‘I’m really looking forward to the future; the future is going to be brighter than our past. The future is in our hands and we have the power to shape our own destiny.’
However, a number of Premiership players are still in discussions about their future, amidst the league’s financial upheaval.
England winger Gabriel Ibitoye is pushing for a move to France, but Harlequins are reluctant to let him leave.
Owen Farrell committed his long-term future to Saracens after signing a new contract
The 22-year-old hastily deleted a Tweet saying ‘Joke of a club’ – although a Quins spokesperson claimed it was ‘unclear which club he was talking about’.
Ibitoye is still training with Quins ahead of the Premiership’s scheduled restart date of August 14.
Clubs are currently in stage two training, with Premiership bosses yesterday receiving assurances that the league’s Covid-19 testing kits are up to standard, despite government concerns.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Thursday that the use of Randox tests should be temporarily halted, due to doubts about the swabs.
However, a Premiership spokesperson claimed the competition’s testing programme will continue as normal.
‘We can confirm that our club testing programme is unaffected by the decision to temporarily suspend distribution of sample collection kits within the national testing programme,’ said a spokesperson. ‘The sample collection kits provided to Randox Health’s private customers use a different supplier of swabs than the kits used within the national testing programme.’
Meanwhile, the southern hemisphere’s Super Rugby competition is set to be disbanded, with New Zealand Rugby announcing plan for a new tournament based in Australasia, featuring Pacific Island representation.