Itoje said that he benefited from experience with England last year, but felt he could have had an impact at the World Cup. “Personally I thought I could have contributed. I always knew it was going to be tough but I did think I would last more than three weeks. I was disappointed to go away so early. The coaches have a difficult decision to make. Whoever they cut at that time wasn’t going to be happy. The coaches gave me some decent feedback and told me some things I need to work on to continue to develop and hopefully get in the team in the future. There will always be things I need to improve on but I am definitely a better player now than I was six months ago.”