Tadhg Beirne hails Maro Itoje who is the ‘reason’ England win despite him being ‘caught out’ while living on the ‘edge’

Ireland utility forward Tadhg Beirne has identified England’s new skipper, Maro Itoje, as a threat ahead of their highly anticipated Six Nations encounter at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Itoje has been one of the stalwarts in the Red Rose team since making his international debut in 2016 and the 30-year-old’s brilliant leadership skills has seen him being appointed as England’s captain for the upcoming Championship.

England head coach Steve Borthwick opted to hand the captaincy to the experienced second-row, who has already represented his country in 88 internationals and made six Test appearances for the British & Irish Lions.

Itoje takes over the leadership role from Saracens clubmate Jamie George and Beirne, who could feature at lock or on the flank against England, is preparing for a tough challenge from England’s new captain who thrives on pushing the envelope in the heat of battle.

‘Someone who certainly lives on the edge’

“He’s a phenomenal player, he’s shown that throughout his career and he’s someone who certainly lives on the edge,” said Beirne. “Sometimes he probably gets caught on that, but I think his influence on games is often very positive.

“And I think he can be the reason a team ticks and a reason they win games, because of the influence he can have on the game.

“He’s that type of player and being in that captain’s role for England now, I’m sure it will elevate his performance even more in terms of he’d probably feel a responsibility to perform at that high level all the time.

“It often does bring out the best in players and he’ll probably be no different.”

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Although Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions last year, they were denied a second successive Grand Slam triumph in the prestigious tournament after England clinched a narrow 23-22 victory when these sides met in last year’s corresponding fixture at Twickenham.

Beirne expects another tough encounter from Borthwick’s troops, especially with players competing for spots the British & Irish Lions squad for their tour to Australia later in the year.

“I think it’s a great rivalry,” he said. “You know I think most people would love to beat England and we’re no different to most nations and we’ve a particular rivalry.

‘It sticks out more than most’

“I think that’s why it sticks out more than most in the Six Nations.”

Beirne feels players should embrace that aspect of the match but within limits.

“You kind of have to let yourself do that a little bit, but you can’t get carried away either,” he explained. “You go off into your own little world if you do that.

“You have to come back to what we are trying to do here, our performance. But you also want to let the occasion build up a bit of emotion, so that you can bring that extra edge if you can.

“There is no harm in that. But in terms of the performance that is where all our focus lies. From an individual point of view, if you can leave that bit leak in a little bit that it gives you an edge, but not too much or you are overemotional about the whole occasion.”

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