Maro Itoje has refused to rule out leaving Saracens to play overseas, heaping pressure on Premiership Rugby to halt the exodus of English players moving abroad.
Itoje has called on Premiership chiefs to make staying in England “more attractive”, as a clutch of Test players prepare to head offshore after the World Cup.
England lock Itoje insisted he wants to play his full career at Saracens, but could see himself forced overseas due to “a number of regulations and requirements” that he believes make it tougher for Red Rose stars to stay on home soil.
Itoje was likely referencing strict salary cap limits from Premiership Rugby that are aimed at battling the league’s tough financial picture, but that well-backed clubs like Saracens would want increased.
The 28-year-old Saracens academy product wants to be a one-club man, but refused to shut down suggestions of a move when his current contract expires in the summer of 2024.
Under current RFU rules the 67-cap lock Itoje’s England career would end if he moved abroad.
“Well, I think first and foremost I love playing for Saracens, I love Saracens, and in an ideal world I would love to spend the majority if not the rest of my career at Saracens,” said Itoje.
“Saracens is a club that I have loved being a part of, I want to stay here, I want to stay in England, I want to stay playing my rugby in England. And I think that’s good for the game, it’s good for the game to have English players in England.
“It’s good for the game to have a situation where the Premiership is thriving, English players are in England, the clubs have their English players. I think that’s a situation where all parties win.
“But, unfortunately, at the moment, we have the situation where it’s not, for numerous reasons. There are a number of regulations and requirements that are making it more and more difficult for English players to stay in England.”
The RFU’s policy of refusing to select overseas-based players continues to come under greater strain than ever before.
Jack Willis has been given special dispensation to turn out for England while at Toulouse because of Wasps’ administration, but that agreement will end after the World Cup in France this autumn. Willis has opted to stay at Toulouse beyond the World Cup, so as things stand he would be unavailable for England selection at that point.
Exeter’s England stars Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds will join Montpellier after the World Cup, and Jack Nowell’s mooted switch to La Rochelle is expected to be confirmed soon.
Joe Marchant will leave Harlequins for Stade Francais, while Northampton’s David Ribbans is heading to Toulon. Leicester’s Anthony Watson is thought to be considering quitting England too, with France’s Top 14 powerhouses able to offer significantly higher salaries than their Premiership rivals.
Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor recently insisted the ban on selecting overseas-based players for England will remain in place in the long-term.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has publicly revealed he wants to find a way to select all his best players however, in a declaration that heaps pressure on his RFU employers.
Central RFU contracts for England players in a two-tier system linked to club deals could prove one route for club and country to find a way to match the spending power of the moneyed French elite.
The Professional Game Agreement between the Premiership and RFU must be redrafted for 2024, and overseas-based player selection for England remains one of the thorniest issues.
Itoje believes the onus lies with Premiership bosses to find a new way to help English top-flight clubs keep their best homegrown players on home turf.
I think we need to make it more attractive for the clubs to have English players.
“I think we’re seeing an unfortunate trend at the moment,” said Itoje. “There are numerous quality English players in their prime who are going abroad, which has never really been done before in my playing career.
“Normally it’s players at the end of their career, maybe for a year or two going abroad. And that’s even players who don’t play for England.
“Most English players want to stay in England and play their rugby in England. But I think we need to make it more attractive for the clubs to have English players. I think PRL needs to make it more attractive for the clubs to have English players.
“We need to find solutions to that issue and that problem. But all things being equal, I definitely would love to be at Saracens.”
