Why it’s Maro Itoje’s time to thrive as British and Irish Lions leader

Maro Itoje has put together an undeniable case to be named British and Irish Lions captain for the upcoming Australian tour. Here’s why it’s his time to thrive as leader.

THE betting window has closed on the identity of the 2025 British & Irish Lions captain, with Maro Itoje the overwhelming favourite to lead the team to Australia. He would become only the third Englishman to be afforded the honour since Bernard Gadney led his men on board the Andalucia Star in 1936, bound for Argentina.

The only subsequent English captains have been Bill Beaumont, who led the Lions on their controversial 1980 tour of apartheid South Africa, and Martin Johnson, in 1997 and 2001. In more recent times the England captain has failed even to make the squad, a fate that befell Steve Borthwick (2009), Chris Robshaw (2013) and Dylan Hartley (2017).

There is no question that Itoje will be in the squad announced tomorrow (Thursday) by Ieuan Evans, the Lions chairman, and it would be a significant surprise if he were not present at the Indigo Theatre inside the O2 arena. Only the tour captain learns of his selection in advance.

Maro Itoje is primed to lead the Lions on the Australian tour. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

Itoje was 4-6 when the market was closed. His nearest rival was, until Saturday, Caelan Doris at 6-4. The Leinster and Ireland captain will almost certainly miss the Lions tour after undergoing shoulder surgery that is expected to keep him out of action for up to six months. Some distance behind Doris in the betting were Dan Sheehan (18-1) and Finn Russell (20-1).

The market being taken down is not a repeat of 2017, when bookmakers announced they had suspended betting on the Lions captain after a “bombardment of bets” on Sam Warburton, but is more likely due to the proximity of Thursday’s squad and captaincy announcement.

Twelve months ago Itoje had not captained a senior team. Eddie Jones’s view that he was “too inward-looking” to be the England captain was shared by some others in the game. Nobody questioned his rugby ability but his on-field discipline and leadership qualities were cast into doubt. Itoje was hurt by the perception.

Warren Gatland considered selecting Itoje as Lions captain in 2021. It would have created a powerful image of the Lions and Springboks (under Siya Kolisi) both being led by black captains. A far cry indeed from 1980.

But Saracens had been relegated, raising questions over form, and Gatland trusted Alun Wyn Jones for his experience and his gravitas.

Where Owen Farrell and Jamie George struggled because of being in the Championship, Itoje was still man of the series for the Lions on that Covid-affected tour, having been the breakthrough star in 2017.

But timing in sport, as poor Doris has found to his cost this past weekend, is everything. This is now surely Itoje’s time.

12 months ago Maro Itoje had not captained a senior team. Picture: Adrian Dennis / AFP

Doris had appeared to struggle under the responsibility of leadership; his form had slipped pre-injury to the point where he was not guaranteed a place in the Test team and he was struggling to build constructive relationships with referees.

Itoje was made the Saracens captain at the start of the season and then appointed England captain in January, before the Six Nations. In contrast to Doris, Itoje improved with all the added responsibility. He has proved Jones to be wrong and is now playing at the peak of his powers, not only wearing the leadership responsibilities lightly but revelling in them.

“He has thrived on the England captaincy and he played really well in the Six Nations but he has played even better for us since then,” Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, said.

“I have been super-impressed with the way he’s gone about the captaincy at our club.

“I will talk about our last couple of leaders pre-Maro, which were Brad Barritt and Owen Farrell. When Brad took over the captaincy his game on the field went to a completely different level. He was instrumental to everything we achieved during his period as captain.

“He was a really tough player, everybody knows that, but he was amazing off the field with the playing group. Owen was exactly the same. Owen thrives on being the captain. Maro has absolutely thrived on all of that leadership.”

Itoje thrived in the captaincy at Six Nations. Picture: Glyn KIRK / AFP

Alex Goode, who is about to play his 400th game for Saracens, has seen Itoje rise from the club’s academy. A keen cricket fan, Goode drew comparisons between his club-mate and a raft of England Test captains. In short, Itoje is more Graham Gooch than Michael Vaughan.

Gooch’s batting average was 58.72 as England captain but 42.58 overall. Vaughan’s experience was more typical, his average dropping from 50.95 to 36.02 when he took on captaincy, ending at over 41.

“First and foremost with Maro, his play has got better as a captain,” Goode said. “You see in cricket that the England captaincy can be such a burden that their play goes down, even if they captain well. Maro this year, when we have been poor at times, he has been the standout player and dragged the team forward.

“His play has been really good; the way he gets the team together and fighting in the right direction is impressive and he leads by example. His standards have got higher. He demands a lot of other people.

“He is more comfortable in his own skin than ever. Off the back of that it makes him more confident as a player and a captain and everyone responds to that really well.”

Two weeks ago Itoje was invited to 10 Downing Street on St George’s Day, where he spoke impressively about the power of using our differences to unite us. That sounds like an address that would go down very well on day one of the Lions training camp in Portugal. The great challenge of the Lions is to meld four nations, fierce rivals, into one team.

“I think becoming a future minister of sport is probably the aim now,” Goode joked.

The long-term goal, maybe. But unless Andy Farrell shocks the world tomorrow (Thursday), then Itoje’s immediate mission will be to lead the Lions down under.

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Originally published as Why it’s Maro Itoje’s time to thrive as British and Irish Lions leader