Maro Itoje: Summer off England duty took me by surprise

Itoje bumped into the England squad at Heathrow Airport as their return from a defeat by the Springboks in Johannesburg coincided with his own from Nigeria.

“I was on the shuttle train back to baggage reclaim and looked to my right and there was [Saracens and England team-mate] Jamie George, I looked to my left and there was Steve Borthwick, and they both looked at me in disbelief,” he added.

Apart from that coincidence, Itoje kept his distance from the England set-up over the summer, sending the squad the odd good luck message, but opting against watching their games live.

“It was difficult to do, but when you’re supposed to take a break, then if you’re living and breathing every moment of a game…” he said.

“I watched them back in retrospect [knowing the final score], partly because I wanted to remove some of the emotion from watching it.

“That’s the beauty of live sport – when you watch a game, you’re in every nook and cranny, every tackle.

“But that also probably has a hidden emotional weight. The whole purpose of the rest was to get back on the even keel, so that was my methodology.”

Itoje’s rest precedes another busy period in his life.

Saracens’ Prem season begins away to Leicester on 27 September before England take on Australia, Japan, New Zealand and a final’s weekend play-off opponent in November’s conclusion to the Nations Championship.

And the start of the Rugby World Cup in Australia is a little over a year away.

Meanwhile, his wife Mimi is expecting the couple’s first child – a boy – imminently.

“I am very excited,” Itoje added

“I want a minimum of three children, I don’t really have a maximum.

“My cousin’s grandfather must have 60 kids, but that isn’t a route I am going down!”