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Maro Itoje appointed as British and Irish Lions captain for Australia tour

Reuters|Published

England's Maro Itoje said he was "deeply honoured and humbled" after being appointed captain of the British and Irish Lions on Thursday for the tour of Australia.

Image: Lee Smith Images via Reuters

Alan Baldwin, in LONDON – England's Maro Itoje said he was "deeply honoured and humbled" after being appointed captain of the British and Irish Lions on Thursday for the tour of Australia.

The 30-year-old Saracens lock becomes the 47th Lions captain since 1888, the first Black player to captain the side and only the third Englishman in the last 89 years to be appointed tour leader.

"I will do my best to do the role justice. I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead, it’s going to be a great tour," he said.

"I know the appetite amongst the players is extremely high, everyone is hungry to be a Lion and I can’t wait to play my role."

One of the few sure test starters, Itoje will be embarking on his third Lions tour after being selected as the youngest player in New Zealand in 2017 and playing a standout role in South Africa in 2021.

Appointed England captain in place of Jamie George in January, Itoje led his country to second place in this year's Six Nations Championship with four wins in a row.

The first Englishman to lead the Lions since Martin Johnson 24 years ago, also in Australia, and only the second in the professional era, the London-born son of Nigerian parents was the obvious choice after Ireland captain Caelan Doris suffered a shoulder injury.

Doris was not named in the 38-man squad and is expected to require surgery.

Itoje said he received an unidentified call on his mobile from an Irish number after club training on Tuesday, a bit of a giveaway since Lions head coach Andy Farrell is also the coach of Ireland.

Even though the line was crackling, and he did not have Farrell's number saved, he recognised the coach's Wigan accent. Then the line went dead.

"I put the phone down, and then it's gone isn't it? He knows something's brewing," laughed Farrell. "So I rang him back and I went 'Oh, by the way, would you like to be British and Irish Lions captain?'.

Itoje had a dinner in London on Wednesday with some of the past captains and he said their passion and appreciation shone through.

"It was amazing. It's a brotherhood, it's a unique club and to spend time with them, for them to show the love and care and appreciation that they still have for the Lions. It was absolutely amazing to be a part of that.

"It’s our responsibility now to take it forward and to make sure the Lions continues to be in an elevated position."

Itoje showed he was captain material from an early age, leading the England Under-20s to Junior World Cup triumph in 2014, even though he became Saracens captain only this season and former coach Eddie Jones had declared him too "inward looking".

Itoje disagreed with that assessment and has gone on to prove it wrong, while Jones was shown the exit in 2022.

"He has thrived on the England captaincy. He played really well in the Six Nations, but he has played even better for us since then," Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall told the Guardian this week.

"Maro has absolutely thrived on all of that leadership," he added. "Maro is very much a leader by what he does and how consistent he is."

The Lions have a game against Argentina in Dublin on June 20. They will have five tour games before the first test in Brisbane on July 19. The second and third Tests are on July 26 and August 2.

Reuters