England rugby star Maro Itoje insists there is no division in Steve Borthwick’s squad over the pay disparity. The Saracens captain is one of seventeen players handed a lucrative £160,000 annual contract.

Elite Player Squad contracts have been dished out to a number of stars following an agreement between the Rugby Football Union and Gallagher Premiership clubs. Borthwick will have the final say on all sports science and medical matters relating to players on those enhanced terms.

Those not on the contract will earn a basic match fee of £23,000, hinging on their selection in Borthwick’s team. According to Itoje, the England boss has insisted that Elite Player Squad Contract holders are not guaranteed a place in his team and will have their deals withdrawn if they do not perform.

Ben Spencer, Will Stuart and Chandler Cunningham-South will start Saturday’s autumn opener against New Zealand without the enhanced contract. There are seven players in the same position who have been named as substitutes.

Itoje insists there are no hard feelings in the squad and reiterated that all players still need to perform. “Steve has set the tone. He said whether you have one of these or not, his job is to pick the best 23 or 15 to represent England and to do the job on Saturday,” the 30-year-old said.

“The aspiration will be to get a contract, but these things are changing. Just because you have a set of players for one season doesn’t mean that they are going to be there for the next season and the season beyond. These things are fluid.

“Steve has made everyone aware that if you are an enhanced player and not performing then you won’t play and you won’t have one for very long. All of us have to make sure there is no divide, but I don’t foresee that being a real bone of contention.”

Last season, Itoje exceeded the limit of 2,400 minutes in a campaign set for backs by the RFL. He accepts that was not entirely wise. The 84-cap ace added: “I actually feel that I was in a better position physically come the end of the season than I was earlier on.

“That being said, I don’t think it’s necessarily wise to be playing that amount of games every year. It is a bit of a difficult one and it does require management.

“No-one wants to miss any England games. You don’t want to miss big games for your club either, so it does require some working through.”