Rugby-'BMW' Itoje already on the road to England stardom

By Mitch Phillips LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - England captain Dylan Hartley tried to keep a lid on 'SuperMaro' fever at Twickenham but the Maro Itoje genie was well and truly out of the bottle after a man of the match display in Saturday's 25-21 victory over Wales. Itoje delivered the sort of Six Nations performance that led defence coach Paul Gustard to describe him as a potential new Martin Johnson or Paul O'Connell, referring to two of the great locks of world rugby. The 21-year-old was England's top tackler with 14, some of them shuddering hits, and was outstanding in the lineout in claiming his own throws and stealing three of the opposition's. Showing the versatility that enables him to also play on the flank for Saracens, Itoje also made two great breakdown turnovers while a powerful, tackle-breaking run set up Anthony Watson for England's only try. "Let's just leave him alone for a bit," said Hartley but nobody in the pubs of Twickenham will be following the captain's orders on Saturday night. Earlier in the tournament coach Eddie Jones described Itoje as a Vauxhall Viva he wanted to turn into a BMW and, after two starts and one brief appearance off the bench, the upgrade seems complete. "He's gradually developed from a Vauxhall Viva, he might be a BMW now, maybe only a Series Three so he has a few series to go," Australian Jones said after England clung on for the win following two late tries by Wales who were outclassed in the opening 50 minutes and trailed 19-0. "He played very well, it was a very good performance. He's done a lot of things we've asked him to do. "He and George Kruis could lock the England scrum for a very long time to come," said Jones. Former Wales flyhalf, now TV pundit, Jonathan Davies said Itoje was "immense...it was a brilliant performance". England's 2003 World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward, who previously said he expects former under-20 captain Itoje to eventually lead the senior side, was also impressed. "He was outstanding," said Woodward. Having taken Saturday's nerve-wrenching finale in his stride, Itoje was equally at home on the podium collecting his man of the match award. "It was pretty tough especially the last 20 minutes. Thank God we managed to see it through," he said. "We didn't speak too much about the World Cup game against Wales as this was a slightly different team," added Itoje referring to England's defeat last year. "This team is setting our own standards and our own goals." (Editing by Tony Jimenez)