Maro Itoje has dismissed former England head coach Eddie Jones' assertion that he is "very inward-looking" and unsuitable for Test captaincy, following his appointment as Saracens' skipper. Itoje succeeds Owen Farrell, who has moved to Racing 92, marking his first senior captaincy role. The 29-year-old was identified as a potential future England captain early in his career, having made his Test debut eight years ago, but Jones never appointed him to the role. In a 2021 book, Jones claimed he had sent Itoje to acting classes to enhance his leadership skills, stating, "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 Maro is very inward-looking. He drives himself rather than anyone else. He doesn't usually influence people off the field."
Given Jones' position as England head coach at the time, his comments were particularly striking. Although the Australian has since suggested a change of heart, Itoje has firmly refuted these views and clarified the situation regarding his acting experiences. "I felt that was a wrong diagnosis of who I am," Itoje said, speaking publicly for the first time since his appointment. "Most people who know me, or who read those comments and know me, would say that was an inaccurate conclusion about who I am as a person. It was unfortunate that my coach would say something like that about me, but in life, not everyone sees things the way you do."
Itoje confirmed that he never attended acting lessons. Instead, he worked with a psychologist to improve his communication skills and deliver messages more effectively. He emphasized that he was not practicing Shakespearean prose on stage. Saracens' director of rugby, Mark McCall, debunked the notion that Itoje is "a little bit self-absorbed," insisting it "couldn't be further from the truth." While Itoje has served as on-field captain when Jamie George was replaced under Steve Borthwick, he has never been appointed as England's starting captain. With George now 33, Itoje is widely expected to succeed him and is also among the favorites for the British & Irish Lions captaincy in Australia next summer.
For now, Itoje is focused on his Saracens debut at Gloucester on Saturday and plans to lead by being "as authentically myself as possible," drawing inspiration from captains like Farrell, Brad Barritt, Borthwick, and Neil de Kock. Outside rugby, he cites Patrick Vieira, Kwame Nkrumah, and Muhammad Ali as influences. "[Vieira] was tough," Itoje said of Arsenal's captain during their undefeated 2004 Premier League win. "Extremely tough. He was a no-nonsense player, he was elegant. I loved his spats with Roy Keane in the tunnel. He was graceful, he didn't seem like the loudest man in the room but he had a presence about him. He knew he had the respect of his teammates and he was a winner. He was captain of Arsenal during their most successful period … what's not to like?"
As a keen student of politics, Itoje also expressed interest in learning from Keir Starmer. "It's always been about how best I could influence my team and teammates. It's not like I've gone to sleep praying to be captain. I feel like it's something that's always been in and around me. Leadership is something I'm interested in." This summer has been particularly eventful for Itoje, who, in addition to accepting the Saracens captaincy, proposed to his fiancée, Mimi, while on holiday in Ghana. "After [McCall asked him to be captain] I told him 'thank you', I was very humbled and honored that he would consider me for this position and I told him yes. My yes to him wasn't as quick as my fiancée's yes to me. Both on and off the field, I guess things have taken a step up this summer and I am ready to go into the next chapter of life and rugby."
