England will now await a fitness update on knocks to several players before their next match, against Japan on Saturday.
The England lock spoke as fresh media reports of unhappiness in the camp this summer continued to circulate. He made clear he did not recognise the picture of Borthwick’s man-management painted by unnamed sources.
Itoje did not confirm that a story in the Times last week had galvanised the players. He did say he disagreed with criticism of Borthwick’s style.
He argued that blame is too often placed on the coaching staff. “Often too much criticism is attached to the coach,” Itoje said. “No matter how well Steve coaches us, we as players are the ones on the field who have to perform.”. Australia head coach Les Kiss credited England with imposing their game. “I’ll give a lot of credit to England for imposing their game on us,” he said.
“What I will say is that in the last couple of days a number of my predecessors have reached out,” Borthwick said. Borthwick rejected the published account of his regime. He said the report was “not an accurate reflection” of how he works.