Six Nations: Maro Itoje ready to push England harder than ever

ROME, Italy — England captain Maro Itoje will challenge his side to work harder than ever, but said while he will offer unwavering commitment and physicality on the field, his role is to ensure his teammates throw everything at the task in hand.

Itoje, 30, has replaced Jamie George as captain heading into this year’s Six Nations Championship. Itoje was also named Saracens skipper ahead of this season, and said his leadership approach is to combine leading and serving.

“I want to serve the squad, serve the country, serve the staff, serve the fans in the role,” Itoje said.

“I just want to bring myself into it, bring the best of myself into it, I want to be authentic and be me and build a lot on the great work Jamie has done with the team and hopefully I can help bring the best out of my team mates. That is what I am going to endeavour to do.”

Itoje’s elevation comes at a time when England are at a crossroads.

After they reached the semifinals of the 2023 World Cup, they endured a tough 2024, winning five Test matches out of 12.

Though they pushed teams close in November, losing to New Zealand 24-22, Australia 42-37 and South Africa 29-20, they finished the year with just one win from their final six matches. Itoje wants to change that narrative when he leads England out in Dublin against Ireland on Feb. 1.

“We have fallen short over the last year in the final stages of games,” Itoje said. “Whilst I think we are on a positive trajectory, it requires more to get the outcomes you want and the results you want. I don’t think it is good enough to say, ‘Do what you did yesterday and expect a different result today.’

“We need to work harder in almost all aspects because we are not where we want to to be. We need to work harder in the final stages of the game, we need to work harder in the gym, we need to work harder with out capacity, we need to work harder with our knowledge, we need to work harder in our relationships.

“It encompases a lot of what we are trying to do because to get to where we want to get to, we need to do more.”

Itoje feels the best form of leadership he can display is by first and foremost playing well.

“That’s more important than any speech you can make, that’s more important than any interview that I could give, or how I walk, how I talk,” he said.

Itoje’s captaincy credentials were called into question by Eddie Jones in his 2021 book “Leadership: Lessons from My Life in Rugby,” which was published while Jones was still in charge of England.

In the book, Jones wrote Itoje was “very inward-looking” and did not “usually influence people off the field.”

Itoje was asked about those comments, and smiled, before answering: “Everyone is entitled to their opinion but in my humble opinion that wasn’t the right conclusion to get to.”

Itoje wants to strike the right balance in his leadership style to motivate his teammates “in a way which makes them feel ready to throw themselves at the task at hand” but he said it’s also a tight rope between pressure and promise.

“I don’t think I’ve ever put on an English shirt and felt and not felt both of those two things,” he said. “There’s always an element of pressure when you play for England, whether you’re on the bench in the squad or the starting XV.”

Itoje feels there is a huge amount of potential in the side, but he will only pick the right moments for rousing speeches. And that judgement will also extend to how he seeks to get the best of the group.

“I think the key thing about this is being authentic,” Itoje said. “I believe I am a reasonably self-aware person and I believe I am able to articulate myself in such a way that my teammates understand what it is that I’m asking of them and what it is we need to do.

“The best way to do that is talk and get the message across, but I need to be the one doing it. I need to be the one throwing myself at the task at hand. I need to be the one setting an example. I need to help the team and for me to help the team, I have to be the best of my authentic self.”

Itoje has drawn on the experience of playing under captains like Alastair Hargreaves, Brad Barritt, Owen Farrell and Jamie George at Saracens, and Dylan Hartley, Farrell and George with England.

It was his Saracens teammate George who captained England last year, but Steve Borthwick opted to shift things around ahead of this Six Nations. It’s been a tough couple of weeks for George who not only lost the England captaincy, but was ruled out of England’s opener with Ireland with a hamstring injury.

Itoje has played his entire professional career alongside George at Saracens and said he spoke to him soon after Borthwick offered him the chance to captain England. George, despite not being in camp at the moment as he recovers from injury, will continue to play a key role in leading England under Itoje.

“I spoke to Jamie almost an hour or two after I got the news [about the captaincy],” Itoje said.

“He was incredibly gracious and honourable. He just showed the type of man that he is. Obviously he was a little bit disappointed from a personal point of view, but he was happy for me, he wished me all the best and he told me that I have his full support. It was further confirmation of the type of man that Jamie is.

“He was incredibly gracious and honourable, and I think it is absolutely genuine that he has my best interests at heart, despite his own personal disappointment. I thank him profusely for that.”

Read more:

– Borthwick backs Itoje to lead England to next Rugby World Cup
– Wales boss Gatland keen to prove doubters wrong
– Six Nations and Women’s Six Nations: Full fixture list
– Six Nations history, winners list, more

Source: espn.com