Maro Itoje rejects Eddie Jones’ claims he is not suited to England captaincy

Former coach said Itoje was ‘very inward-looking’.

Thu, 19 Sep, 2024 - 11:04

Gerard Meagher

Maro Itoje has rejected claims by the former England head coach Eddie Jones that he is “very inward-looking” and not suited to Test captaincy, after being unveiled as Saracens’ skipper.

Itoje takes over from Owen Farrell, after the fly-half’s move to Racing 92, in what is his first senior captaincy role. The 29-year-old was earmarked as a future England captain early in his career after bursting on to the Test scene eight years ago but Jones never saw fit to install him in the role, claiming in a 2021 book that he had sent Itoje to acting classes in an effort to improve his leadership.