Six Nations 2016 -
The
21-year-old was handed his international debut as a second-half replacement in Sunday’s 40-9 thumping of Italy in
Rome, and repaid Eddie Jones’ faith with an impressive outing.
His
introduction coincided with the Red Rose turning on the style against
the Azzurri, with their forward power winning out as Jonathan Joseph
bagged two of three tries and Owen Farrell also crossed in the late stages.
After
two away wins Moody expects tougher tests for England against the likes of
Wales and France, but believes 6ft 5in Itoje would give England a boost in
their next clash against back-to-back champions Ireland.
“It’s
exciting times for England,” he told the Alan Brazil
Sports Breakfast. “We’ve not had a Grand Slam opportunity for four
years when we lost to Wales in the final game.
“But
Italy and Scotland and teams England should be beating. We should be confident
with two wins but it was against two sides who are nowhere near the calibre of
Wales, Ireland or France.
“Whenever
you get a new coach they want to put their mark on the team. When Jones started
he made ten or 11 changes to the squad but fielded essentially the same team
from Stuart Lancaster’s regime for the first few games.
“Now
you’ve started to see him make his little tweaks and I like the way he’s gone
about it.
“I
just loved seeing some of the young men come on this weekend. Jamie George had
a great game and Maro Itoje marked his international debut with some
outstanding bits of play. He was everywhere and if he doesn’t start the next
game I’ll be incredibly disappointed.
“Itoje’s
performance was so strong, and Robshaw’s so steady and not anything special,
that he should start the next game. That’s where we’ll start to see Jones’
imprint on the team, they’re all his additions.”
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