Maro Itoje rejects Eddie Jones claims he is unfit to captain England | Maro Itoje

Maro Itoje has dismissed claims by former England head coach Eddie Jones that he is “very introverted” and unsuited to the Test captaincy after being unveiled as Saracens captain.

Itoje takes over from Owen Farrell, following the fly-half’s switch to Racing 92, in what is his first senior captaincy role. The 29-year-old was hailed as a future England captain early in his career after bursting onto the Test scene eight years ago, but Jones never saw fit to install him in the role. In a 2021 book, Jones claimed he sent Itoje to acting lessons in a bid to improve his leadership.

“I could be wrong, but I’m not sure Maro is a future England captain,” Jones wrote. “He’s going to be one of the best players, but Maro is very introverted. He drives himself more than anyone else. He doesn’t tend to influence people off the pitch.”

Given that Jones was still England manager at the time, this was a remarkable claim. Although the Australian has since stated that he has changed his mind, Itoje has vigorously refuted those views and set the record straight about his stage performances.

“I felt that was a misdiagnosis of who I am,” said Itoje, speaking for the first time since his appointment. “Most people who know me, most people who read those comments and know me, would say that’s a misdiagnosis of who I am as a person. I think it was unfortunate that your coach said something like that about you, but in life, not everyone sees things the way you see them.

“I can confirm that I never went to acting classes. I worked with the psychologist at the time to learn how to communicate more clearly and deliver a message more effectively. I wasn’t waltzing around a stage practicing my Shakespearean prose.”

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has pointed out a false narrative that Itoje is “a bit self-centred” and insisted it “couldn’t be further from the truth”. But while he has acted as on-field captain when Jamie George was replaced by Steve Borthwick, he has never filled that role for England from the outset.

Now that George is 33, however, Itoje is widely tipped as his successor and is also among the favourites to captain the British & Irish Lions in Australia next summer. For now, though, he is focused on starting his Saracens tenure in Gloucester on Saturday and plans to lead by “being as authentically myself as possible”, citing Farrell, Brad Barritt, Borthwick and Neil de Kock as captains who have had a significant impact on him.

Outside of rugby, he points to Patrick Vieira – Itoje is an avid Arsenal fan – and Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, and Muhammad Ali as influences. “(Vieira) was tough,” Itoje added of Arsenal’s captain when they won the Premier League unbeaten in 2004. “Extremely tough. He was a no-nonsense player, he was elegant. I loved his rows with Roy Keane in the tunnel. He was graceful, he didn’t seem the loudest guy in the room but he had charisma. He knew he had the respect of his team-mates and he was a winner. He captained Arsenal during their most successful period … what’s not to like?”

A keen student of politics, his eyes also lit up when it was suggested he could pick Keir Starmer’s brain. “It’s always been about how I can best influence my team and my team-mates. It’s not like I’ve gone to sleep praying about being captain. I feel like it’s something that’s always been in and around me. Leadership is something I’m interested in.”

It has been a busy summer for Itoje, who, as well as accepting the Saracens captaincy, proposed to his current fiancée, Mimi, during a holiday in Ghana – perhaps part of a natural maturation phase, with his 30th birthday approaching next month. “After (McCall asked him to be captain) I said ‘thank you’, I felt very humbled and honoured that he would consider me for the position and I said yes. My yes to him wasn’t as quick as my fiancée’s yes to me. Both on and off the field, I think things have moved forward this summer and I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life and rugby.”