Referees who operate in the Premiership are all English, he wrote, which shapes how the contest is officiated at club level.
Itoje has to find the right emotional pitch without overstepping the line, according to the former player.
That makes the international breakdown even more important after the opening weeks of the Premiership season, according to Monye.
Monye noted rugby’s cyclical nature and how the same questions about the breakdown have returned.
Keeping clear heads amid the emotion will be central to the performance, Monye wrote.
England are light at openside flanker again, he added.
The concern, he said, is that England could be too eager, try to do too much early and let recent ill discipline creep in. The breakdown battle will be pivotal, he said, as discussion again turns to Australia’s strengths there and whether England have the personnel to cope. He said competing hard at the breakdown is less common in the Premiership because there are fewer rewards for it.
Monye said history showed England often produced their best when their backs were against the wall.