New England captain Maro Itoje is “world class” but can get “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 as club team-mate Jamie George’s replacement to skipper the national side earlier this month, and will lead England when they open their championship campaign away to defending champions Ireland on Saturday February 1.
Speaking to Sky Sports at Tuesday’s Six Nations launch, 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 also plays in a fiercely competitive way. And that balance is a great example for all our players.
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Maro Itoje says he did not expect the captaincy call-up for the Six Nations and says the side will miss Jamie George following the news he has been ruled out of the opener against Ireland
“In every great team I’ve been involved in, there’s always a great group of leaders. Having Maro step up, Ellis Genge as vice-captain, we are developing great leaders.
“My expectations, the players expectations and the supporters expectations are that we go into each game with a plan to win the game and belief to win the game.
“We’ve got a really good group of players that I have trust, faith and confidence in.”
Itoje: Captaincy decision surprised me
Itoje was described by previous England head coach Eddie Jones as too ‘inward-looking’ to make captain during his time in charge.
The second row admits the call by Borthwick caught him off guard, and added the loss of George – who has since suffered a hamstring injury and been ruled out of England opener against Ireland – will be felt by the squad.
“I definitely was surprised,” Itoje told Sky Sports. “Jamie is a brilliant person so I didn’t really expect it.
Itoje replaced Saracens teammate Jamie George as England captain, and say he was ‘definitely surprised’
“I’m incredibly honoured, grateful and humbled to be asked to do the role.
“Jamie is a quality player and person, so whenever you don’t have someone like that in and around the group, we’re definitely going to miss him and we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Six Nations 2025 fixtures: England
- February 1: Ireland (a)
- February 8: France (h)
- February 22: Scotland (h)
- March 9: Italy (h)
- March 15: Wales (a)
