New England captain Maro Itoje is “world class” but could be “even better” according to head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of the start of the 2025 Six Nations.
The 30-year-old Saracens lock was announced earlier this month as the national team captain, replacing club team-mate Jamie George, and will open their Championship campaign away against defending champions Ireland on Saturday, February 1. He will eventually lead England.
talk to sky sports Speaking at Tuesday’s Six Nations presentation, Borthwick said:
“Maro is a world-class player, but he can get even better and add other elements to his game.
“He’s a player who thinks deeply about the game, but he’s also a player who plays with a fierce competitiveness, and that balance is a great example for all of our players.”
“Every great team I’ve been involved with has always had a great group of leaders, and with Maro stepping up and Ellis Genge becoming vice-captain, we’re developing great leaders.
“My expectation, the expectation of the players and the expectation of the supporters is that we go into each game with a plan to win the game and a belief that we will win the game.
“We have some really good players that we trust, trust, trust.”
Itoje: I was surprised by the captain’s decision.
Itoje was described by former England head coach Eddie Jones as being too “introverted” to be captain during his time as manager.
The second row admitted they were taken by surprise by Borthwick’s call, adding that George’s hamstring injury, which forced him to miss England’s opening game against Ireland, will be felt by all in the squad.
“I was really surprised,” Itoje said. sky sports. “Jamie is a great guy so I really didn’t have high expectations.
Itoje replaced Saracens teammate Jamie George as England captain but said he was ‘definitely surprised’.
“I am extremely honored, grateful and humbled to have been asked to play this role.
“Jamie is a player of high quality, both as a player and as a person, so when you don’t have players like that in your group or around you, we will definitely miss him and wish him a speedy recovery. Masu.”
Six Nations 2025 fixtures: England
- February 1st: Ireland (a)
- February 8th: France (h)
- February 22nd: Scotland (h)
- March 9th: Italy (h)
- March 15th: Wales (a)
