Rugby World Cup 2019: Maro Itoje, England’s leader of the pack, fearless in the face of the All Blacks

After captaining the British and Irish Lions to a series victory in South Africa in 1997, it took two more years for Martin Johnson to be named England captain. This might sound ridiculous to anyone unfamiliar with the career path of the man widely regarded as England’s greatest captain, but then sometimes the leader in the pack is not the one who tosses the coin.

England’s captain may be Owen Farrell, but it is Maro Itoje, at the tender age of 24, who has rapidly established himself as the commanding force among the side’s forwards.

This will come as no surprise to anyone who watched the British and Irish Lions tour of 2017. Sam Warburton captained that tour magnificently, Peter O’Mahony took on the responsibility for the first Test without hesitation – and did a mighty fine job despite what would follow in the later weeks – and Alun Wyn Jones led by example.

But there was only one name being chanted when the Lions struck their decisive blow in that victorious second Test in Wellington. Search for the match highlights now, and it will be impossible to not hear “Oh Maro Itoje” sung by 30,000 Lions fans.

“I remember most things about the game,” recalls Itoje. “It struck me as quite a dramatic game. I’m sure they could make an opera about it.

“It was raining and I don’t think we started that well but we were physical and we were in there. Then the red card [to Sonny Bill Williams] happened but we still had to work hard to try and wrestle the game back. It was just a good day, to be honest.”

Itoje’s modest words are not replicated by his teammates within that squad. A number of them, Irish, Welsh and English, spoke of a breakout performance that day, the type that puts you on the radar of the world, and it was no surprise when Warburton himself hailed Itoje as a Lions captain of the future. “No doubt”, said the greatest British captain in the history of the Lions, and that includes Johnson and Willie John McBride.

Yet here we are, a World Cup semi-final against New Zealand where once again Itoje may not be the captain, but the leader of the pack. The Saracens lock has his way with words – the degree from the London School of African and Oriental Studies explains why he has such a descriptive way of giving his answers – and yet it is surprising, almost jaw-dropping, to hear him use a WWE analogy to describe the biggest game of his career.

“As Ric Flair [the WWE 16-time world champion] said, ‘To be the man you’ve got to beat the man’.”

Itoje is of course talking about the All Blacks. “They are two-time World Cup winners in a row, and they have obviously been the dominant team over the last eight years and if you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. That is our challenge, that is what is in front of us on Saturday.”

For a man of such a young age in rugby years, it is quite conceivable why his go-to analogy in the biggest week of his life is from a scripted WWE promo. But then that has nothing to do with the confidence that flows not just within his own veins, but within this team. The interactions with the entire 31-man squad throughout their stay in Japan has been one of educated confidence – not delusion, or hot air, or anything that may have been found in a WWE interview – but the genuine belief that regardless of what has or hasn’t happened in the past, this England squad genuinely believes it will beat New Zealand on Saturday.

“Quite honestly, even if I hadn’t experienced beating them, I’d still have that same confidence,” explains Itoje. “My confidence doesn’t derive from the 2017 Lions tour. It’s a different team and different circumstances. Their team has changed a lot too.

“But my confidence derives from the personnel we have, the confidence we have, the other players we have and what we are capable of. I’ve never ever gone into a game thinking that this team is going to beat me in this game. I respect what New Zealand have done but I don’t see them as a team that is going to beat us on Saturday. I see them as a very good team and obviously they have to do some very dangerous things, but I still think that if we play our best rugby we will win.”

It is a remarkable statement from someone still so young, and could well be used against him come Sunday if the semi-final doesn’t go England’s way. But win or lose, they are a leader’s words, captain or no captain.

What has become apparent on this World Cup tour is that for most of Eddie Jones’s squad the 2003 final is their first and most motivating rugby memory from their childhood. But it is a different final that stands out within Itoje’s memory, and one that shows the power of how winning on Saturday could yet be enough to inspire the next generation – after all, England don’t tend to win World Cup semi-finals that often.

“I’ve always believed in England, even as a young rugby fan,” said Itoje. “I remember watching the 2007 Rugby World Cup – that was probably the first World Cup where rugby really captured my imagination. I’ve always seen England as a team that should be there competing for World Cups and should be there winning World Cups.

“As a young rugby player you watch all these tournaments and think: ‘I want to win. I want to be part of something special.’ When Eddie said that [about this team], I hadn’t played for England at that point, but I definitely bought into it from the start.”