British and Irish Lions 2017: Maro Itoje gets to grips with looking after BIL the Lion as teammates get up to no good

Maro Itoje is not one to shirk responsibility. The lock is a two-time European Champions Cup winner, a two-time Six Nations champion and has also won the Premiership title. He has 12 England caps to his name, and on Wednesday, will become a British and Irish Lions. All of this achieved by the age of 22 years old.

Yet being 22 years old on a Lions tour also comes with its responsibilities, and one of them is to look after BIL the Lion, the cuddly toy that the youngest member of the squad must carry around at all times.

This is already proving difficult for Itoje given that his predecessor, Stuart Hogg, has been keen to make life hard for the Saracens second-row, despite going through the same experience in 2013.

“One would think he would be a bit sympathetic, but he is the absolute opposite,” mused Itoje on Monday ahead of the second tour match against the Blues where he will join Courtney Lawes in the second-row. “We went to the gym and put him down. Stuart then put him on top of something and I pretended I didn't see it. Then he moved it again, then again. I finally got him back.”

Itoje appears relaxed and, importantly, looks like he is enjoying his first Lions tour, and important factor in building squad harmony ahead of the All Blacks Test series, the games that matter. Yet his biggest challenge so far has not been ensuring that his lineouts are function right or he’s making his tackles, but making sure all is well when it comes to BIL.

“It has been interesting and a bit challenging at times. It has its good moments as any relationship,” he adds. “But also has its highs and lows. He goes missing an awful to and I am think of ways to keep him close. I have a good roommate now, he wouldn't betray me. He is safe.”

That roommate is the Ireland forward Iain Henderson, and it turns out he offers more to Itoje than just protection for BIL. The Ulster man, who is adept a playing in the second-row as well as at flanker, has been explaining the complicated situation surrounding Northern Irish politics, and Itoje – as someone who is currently awaiting his final exam before completing a degree in African politics – was delighted with the opportunity to learn from the Irish international.

“For me it's been absolutely great,” he said. “My room-mate at the moment is Iain Henderson. He's been giving me a little debrief on Northern Irish politics which was very interesting for me. That's not exactly my area of expertise.

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“He didn't give me the whole thing otherwise we'd have been there for quite a while! Sean O'Brien's a bit of a character; it's been nice getting to know him. My first room-mate was Rhys Webb. He sleeps like an absolute champion. Either I'm really boring or he sleeps a lot.”

After getting used to life on tour off the pitch – Itoje is on the duty committee to ensure everything is clean and in order at all times – he can now go about what he does best. One of England’s form players over the last 18 months now gets the chance to show New Zealand what he can do, and having led the England Under-20s to Junior World Championship glory in 2014 on these shores, he now gets his chance to take on a number of All Blacks when he lines up against the Blues at Eden Park.