Rugby World Cup 2019: Belief has never been a problem for England, says Itoje

Maro Itoje insists the England camp was calm leading into the stunning Rugby World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand – because Eddie Jones’ men are always confident.

England dominated the All Blacks for an outstanding 19-7 victory on Saturday, handing the two-time defending champions their first World Cup defeat since 2007.

Itoje and his team-mates are now heading to the final, with England reaching the trophy match for the first time in 12 years.

The downing of New Zealand was widely considered an upset, yet in-form lock Itoje suggested England always fancied their chances, illustrating a self-belief that will serve them well heading into the final.

“We’ve always had belief within our squad,” Itoje said. “We have the players, we have some brilliant characters in our squad, our coaches, they’ve done a phenomenal job so far.

“So belief has never been a problem for us.

The support has been unbelievable!!! Thank you so much I really appreciate it it was an honour to play against this NZ team! Let’s keep it moving!!! pic.twitter.com/Id4yXVoebe

— Maro Itoje (@maroitoje) October 26, 2019

“It was quite calm [before New Zealand], to be honest. I don’t know how it was perceived from the outside.

“But we always believed that we are capable of something like we demonstrated on the pitch. It doesn’t come as a big shock for us.”

Itoje assessed the victory as “pretty cool” and is now relishing the prospect of a week-long build-up to the game of his life.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I’m very, very happy with the performance from the team,” he said.

“There’s obviously some things we could have done better, but we did a good job in staying engaged.

“We’re really excited. These are the weeks that you want to be a part of as a player. And I’m very honoured and humbled to be a part of what will be a great week.”

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