England 'incredibly happy' to rest Itoje for Boks

Leaving captain Maro Itoje out of next month's titanic meeting with world champions South Africa is the correct decision, says England senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth. Itoje has been rested for the 4 July match against the Springboks as well as Tests against Fiji and Argentina on subsequent weekends in order to give him extended time away from rugby. The 31-year-old has exceeded World Rugby's recommended limit of 30 matches a season in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns. He captained the British and Irish Lions in Australia last summer and will lead England into the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year. "I'm incredibly happy that we've been able to do right by him," said Wigglesworth. "He has had a lot on, not just last year but for the last however many years of his career, so we are lucky to be in that position with the strength in depth in that position - so Maro is going to take his rest." Leicester's George Martin is back in the England set-up after making his comeback from a 14-month injury lay-off in April, while Northampton lock Alex Coles' development was one of the few positives from a disappointing Six Nations campaign. Ollie Chessum, who shone in the final-round defeat by France, is another second-row option, but could also be deployed at blindside flanker. Bath's Charlie Ewels and Gloucester's Arthur Clark are also part of the Nations Championship squad. …