It was a cold November evening in 2014 when Maro Itoje stopped in the Saracens car park to talk about his first experience as a senior captain. Here was a softly spoken student, fresh out of Harrow School, who had just led his team to an LV Cup victory over Harlequins.
‘As a young person you feel as if you have to earn respect,’ he said, beads of sweat still running down his brow from an all-action display. Itoje had just turned 20 and had barely established himself in men’s rugby, yet he was already being talked about as a future England star.
‘I’m hoping to put on a bit of size and work towards breaking into the first team,’ he said of his international ambitions. ‘I’m only 20 so I’ll be pretty disappointed if I’m the same build in five years’ time!’
Insiders were tipping Itoje as a senior international captain from the start. That or Prime Minister, given his princely reputation as a poet and an academic. A straight-A student who had already led England to victory at the Under 20 World Cup. From the very start, his progression to the top felt like a rite of passage. A case of when, not if. The hype was there from the beginning but it was backed up by Itoje’s performances.
Many thought his appointment as England captain would come sooner but there have been a few challenges on the way. When Eddie Jones took over as England coach in 2015, the hard-nosed Australian thought everything had happened too easily. ‘Where are your scars?’ he asked him.
Jones compared him to a Vauxhall Viva in the press to counter his Rolls-Royce reputation but Itoje was rarely fazed. He was called up for the Lions in 2017, growing used to the VIP treatment. His reputation exploded and before long he was being invited to appearances with Anthony Joshua and visiting the Miami home of American superstar rapper and music producer DJ Khaled. Just last week, by coincidence, he was signed up by the same management agency that represent England football captain Harry Kane.
Maro Itoje has been named England’s new captain ahead of the Six Nations
It is a role he always seemed destined for, but former coach Eddie Jones (left) was not convinced by his leadership qualities
Itoje led England Under 20s to World Cup glory in 2014, and will now lead his country at senior level
Yet there was always a sense of unease in his relationship with Jones, who deep down was never convinced by Itoje’s leadership credentials.
‘I might be wrong, but I am not sure Maro is a future England captain,’ Jones wrote in his book. ‘He is going to be one of the great players, but Maro is very inward-looking. He drives himself rather than anyone else. He doesn’t usually influence people off the field.’
Back at Saracens, there was anger at Jones’ comments. Itoje did not take up rugby until his teens and has never been the old-school figure who leads sing-alongs at the back of the bus. Art galleries are more his thing. Instead, he leads by example with high-intensity displays. A guiding pillar of physicality and athleticism.
He turned down a big-money move to Racing 92 last year and committed his future to Saracens, named club captain back in September. After maintaining his silence on Jones, he replied with loaded diplomacy at his club captaincy unveiling a few months ago.
‘I felt that was a wrong diagnosis of who I am,’ said Itoje. ‘Most people who know me, most people who read those comments who knew me, would say that was an inaccurate conclusion to who I am as a person. I guess it was unfortunate that your coach would say something like that about you but in life not everyone is going to see the things the way you see it.’
Responding to Jones’ claims that he was sent to acting lessons to improve his leadership skills, he added: ‘I can confirm that I never went to acting lessons. I worked with the psychologist at the time in terms of how to communicate more clearly and get a message across in a more effective manner. I was not waltzing across a stage and practising my Shakespearean prose.’
Following the departure of Owen Farrell to France, Itoje has settled into the role and steered the club through testing waters. As an Arsenal fan, he talks about his desire to emulate the graceful authority of Patrick Vieira.
During the autumn internationals, fuel was poured onto the England captaincy debate, with Itoje’s name never far from the conversation. Jamie George was consistently brought off the pitch around the hour mark, watching from the sidelines as England slipped into a habit of suffering late defeats.
Itoje has stepped up well after replacing Owen Farrell as Saracens captain this season
Now he will take over the armband from Jamie George (left) at international level
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With George’s starting role under pressure from Theo Dan and Luke Cowan-Dickie, it left Borthwick with little choice but to make a change in leadership. Asked how George took the news, which was first revealed by Mail Sport, Borthwick said on Tuesday: ‘Jamie’s disappointed, as anybody would be. He’s a very proud Englishman and he’s led the team over the last 12 months with a great deal of pride.’
It is one of the biggest decisions of Borthwick’s tenure. A symbolic change to take the armband off George after less than a year as captain, as England desperately try to move on from their disappointing 2024.
In Itoje, he has an 80-minute warrior. A tireless nuisance on the pitch. The pair met at a coffee shop in Harpenden on Monday and Borthwick outlined his plans for the future. ‘When I asked Maro to captain the team, the smile that spread across his face could have lit up the whole of England,’ he said. ‘He was delighted – and very humble. He will do everything he can to help serve this team and be the best leader he can.
‘I said I want him to captain in his way. Everyone sees the commitment with which he plays. Every England supporter sees the commitment with which he plays.
‘When you have somebody that fights that hard for the shirt and for his team, it’s somebody everyone can relate to. It’s “I’d want to be led by that man”. That’s the nature with which he plays the game.’
For now, the appointment has steered the narrative away from the political infighting at Twickenham. On Tuesday, Borthwick explained how Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will have shoulder surgery later this week, George Furbank could return in the latter rounds of the Six Nations and how Sam Underhill will not feature at all.
He added how it was impossible to overlook No 8 Tom Willis, while answering questions about Itoje’s potential to lead the team through to the World Cup Down Under in two and a half years’ time.
Steve Borthwick believes Itoje is capable of leading England into the 2027 World Cup
Itoje has faced every challenge in his career to date, and there is little doubt he will flourish as captain
‘As we sit here right now, I don’t see why not,’ he said. ‘If you ask any coach, the preference would always be to have the captain on for 80 minutes. That’s not always possible and there are plenty of exceptions to that case. But I generally think that would generally be most coaches’ preferences.
‘I came back into the England squad as head coach two years ago and what struck me with Maro – having been away for a number of years – is that he thinks really well under pressure. He stays calm under pressure.
‘The diligence of the way he goes about his work every single day is first-class. The way he stands up in front of the group and talks to them about how we are going to take the game forward at the weekend. When I am watching the players, the way they are looking at him, I go, “This is a guy that players will get behind and really follow”.’
There is little doubt that Itoje will be ready for the role. It has felt like his destiny from the very start.
