Maro Itoje is perfect for Steve Borthwick’s combative game plan – PA/Mike Egerton
It was while sitting in Steve Borthwick’s office at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot last June that Maro Itoje convinced the head coach that he was a future England captain.
The conversation was not about leadership, however. The issue at stake was the number of games Itoje had played in the season. The Saracens forward knew that he would exceed the limit of match involvements under the existing agreement between the Rugby Players’ Association and the Rugby Football Union during the upcoming tour of Japan and New Zealand.
Yet Itoje wanted to play. In January last year, he had turned down the opportunity for a lucrative move to France, instead signing a long-term deal with Saracens to ensure that he would be available for England through to the World Cup in Australia in 2027.
A deal was struck to ensure that the then 29-year-old would have a five-week break after the tour, followed by another five weeks without any pre-season games for Saracens.
It was the kind of commitment that told Borthwick that Itoje was ready for leadership, first as a vice-captain, a role he fulfilled during the tour and in the autumn and now as his permanent captain.
It was a destiny that many assumed would have been a simple rite of passage when Itoje emerged on the English scene as a precocious talent, captaining the England Under-20s side that won the Junior World Championship in 2014. A hugely intelligent man, he was blessed with an innate physical prowess and the kind of bristle and edge of a young Martin Johnson.
Yet while his international career followed an expected path, making his debut in 2016, starring for the British and Irish Lions on their historic tour of New Zealand the following year, the notion of leadership, of captaincy, was kicked into the long grass.
He seemed like the perfect choice to lead the Lions on the tour of South Africa in 2021, but head coach Warren Gatland turned to Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones instead.
Eddie Jones gave Itoje his England debut but publicly doubted his leadership credentials – Getty Images/Glyn Kirk
Writing in his book Leadership: Lessons From My Life In Rugby, Eddie Jones, the England head coach who had given Itoje his international debut but opted for Dylan Hartley and then Owen Farrell as his captains, addressed the issue: “I might be wrong, but I am not sure Maro is a future England captain. He is going to be one of the great players, but he is very inward-looking. He drives himself rather than anyone else. He doesn’t usually influence people off the field.”
Yet those who worked closely with him in the intervening years noticed a difference in Itoje’s approach, with the single-mindedness of his early years giving way to a broader outlook, leadership not just by actions but by deeds. He found his voice in the squad, both with Saracens and England as if realising his destiny had not yet been fulfilled.
“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 from the England squad and having not coached him in that period – is that he thinks really well under pressure,” said Borthwick.
“He stays calm under pressure. He’s a guy that the diligence of the way he goes about his work every single day is first class, The way you see the younger players emerging in the squad, the likes of George Martin and Oli Chessum, the way he helps and works with them and that’s a hugely positive effect. The way he stands up in front of the group and talks to them and talks about how we are going to take the game forward and talks about the game 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’.”
Borthwick introduced him to the vice-captaincy role in a low key manner during last year’s Six Nations, and Itoje’s maturity was recognised by his club, with Mark McCall making him club captain at Saracens at the start of the season, significantly replacing Jamie George.
“The feedback I received from people at Saracens is how well he leads them, what an excellent captain he’s been this season for them,” Borthwick added. “Certainly, captaining each week at your club, you’ve got to think through all those situations in games every week. That’s another aspect that means it’s the right time for Maro to captain England.”
Having turned 30, opportunities remaining in his career have come into sharper focus. Having overcome a health issue that affected his conditioning and energy levels a couple of years ago, he has not only regained his imperious form, demonstrated most evidently for Saracens in their defeat by Munster last Saturday, but runs the line-out similarly to Borthwick and stands as a leader in his own image.
“Everybody will captain in their own unique way,” added Borthwick. “That’s an important element. When I chatted to Maro, I said I wanted him to captain in his way. What I will say, is that 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.”
Itoje’s bristling menace has become an inspiration. A huge challenge awaits during this Six Nations, but now he has the platform to prove this time he is a Lions captain in waiting. It is his time.
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The post Maro Itoje found his voice to finally fulfil destiny as England captain first appeared on Rugby 247.
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Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2025-01-15 02:47:36
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