Maro Itoje has today been named as the Premiership Player of the Month for December.
This capped a stellar year for the former England U20s captain who only celebrated his 21st birthday at the end of October.
Itoje was involved in an unprecedented four-way battle in the voting with runners-up Wasps‘ Elliot Daly, his Saracens‘ team mate Owen Farrell and Exeter Chiefs‘ No 8 Thomas Waldrom.
“This month’s Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Month has shown a maturity on the field way beyond his years all season,” said Austin Healey.
“But it is not just his temperament that makes Maro Itoje stand out as a definite England second row of the future – he possesses great physical attributes and more importantly amazing technique.
“When carrying his hands and timing are excellent, when tackling he is strong and rarely misses, but for me it is at the breakdown where he is best. He has good special awareness in the rucks and often finds a way to bounce to his feet and stay deep in the ruck, therefore using his feet to disrupt possession.
“He will play for England, the big question is will he be Eddie Jones‘ captain.”