Maro Itoje

Maro Itoje is England’s captain and, by most measures, the most influential English forward of his generation. A lock who has spent his entire career at Saracens, he was the youngest of the 2017 Lions Test starters, toured again in 2021, and in 2025 captained the British & Irish Lions in Australia — the natural end point of a decade in which he has barely missed a big occasion.

His game is built on lawful nuisance. Itoje competes at the lineout on the edge of the referee’s patience, slows opposition ball with a jackal that rarely concedes the penalty, and produces the maul turnovers and charge-downs that flip momentum in tight Test matches. He is not the biggest carrier in world rugby and has never pretended to be; his value shows up in the possessions the opposition loses rather than the metres he makes.

The captaincy, handed to him in 2025, changed the conversation around him. England’s fifth-place finish in the 2026 Six Nations — four defeats in five — put the leadership group under real scrutiny, and the RFU’s decision to back Steve Borthwick through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup means Itoje’s job now is to drag a talented, underperforming squad back up the table. History suggests betting against him is unwise: he has played in finals or deciders in almost every season of his professional life.

Away from the field he is a published podcast host, art collector and one of rugby’s most articulate voices on African heritage. Our database tracks his Test appearances as lineups sync, and this profile updates as new data arrives.