Maro Itoje Set to be Named British & Irish Lions Captain for Australia Tour
The British & Irish Lions are set to announce Maro Itoje as their captain for the upcoming tour of Australia, according to a report from The Guardian. The 30-year-old lock is expected to become the first Englishman to lead the Lions in 24 years when he is unveiled as part of Andy Farrell’s squad announcement at a live event at the O2.
Itoje, who is also the England captain, became the overwhelming favourite for the role when it emerged that Ireland captain Caelan Doris had suffered a shoulder injury requiring surgery. As reported by The Guardian, Doris is now a doubt for the tour, clearing the way for Itoje to be selected as captain and lead what is understood to be a 40-strong squad.
The Guardian understands that Itoje has been earmarked as a leader ever since he broke onto the international scene, having captained England Under-20s to the junior World Cup title in 2014. He was installed as Saracens captain this season and promoted to England captain by Steve Borthwick, replacing clubmate Jamie George.
Under his leadership, England have won their past four Six Nations matches, prompting Borthwick to endorse Itoje’s credentials as the Lions captain. As quoted in The Guardian, Borthwick said: “I think Maro’s been absolutely outstanding. He leads by example and he’s stepped up his game. He’s improved in many areas in this campaign. I’d be fully confident in Maro to lead the Lions should Andy ask him.”
Itoje is set for his third Lions tour, having excelled as the youngest member of the 2017 squad against New Zealand. He was also among the standout players in the Covid-hit series defeat by South Africa in 2021 and has started the last five Lions Tests. The Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, gave a glowing appraisal of Itoje’s captaincy credentials, stating that he “has thrived on the England captaincy” and “played really well in the Six Nations”.
As reported by The Guardian, Itoje will attend a dinner with a host of former players who have previously held the role, including Martin Johnson, Sam Warburton, and Brian O’Driscoll. The Lions’ squad announcement is expected to take place at a live event at the O2, where the chair, Ieuan Evans, will read out the list of Farrell’s squad in front of what organisers hope will be around 2,000 paying spectators.
The Lions will face a number of injury headaches, including Doris, to contend with when selecting their squad. Farrell and his assistant coaches convened on Wednesday for a final selection meeting, with 22 forwards expected to be among the 40 players selected. The Lions will play a number of Tests against Australia, with the first Test taking place in June.
The announcement of Itoje as captain will come as no surprise to rugby fans, who have seen him excel on the pitch in recent years. His leadership credentials have been praised by team-mates and coaches alike, and he is expected to lead the Lions with distinction on their upcoming tour of Australia.
The event at the O2 will be streamed live for fans who are unable to attend in person. Only the Lions captain finds out about their selection before Thursday’s live event. As of earlier this week, a number of tickets – costing £65 a head – remained unsold for the event.
McCall believes that Itoje is playing as well as he has ever played and is “right on top of his game at the moment”. He added that Itoje is “somebody who delegates when he needs to” and “makes sure that when he speaks, people are going to listen because what he says is important”.
The British & Irish Lions tour of Australia is set to be a highly anticipated event, with rugby fans around the world eagerly awaiting the announcement of the squad and the start of the Tests. With Itoje set to lead the team, fans will be excited to see how he performs on the pitch.
The Guardian will continue to provide extensive coverage of the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, including live updates, analysis, and commentary on all the Tests.
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