Oghenemaro Miles "Maro" Itoje (born 28 October 1994) is an English professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player, who plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

or as a blindside flanker for Gallagher Premiership club Saracens and the England national team. He signed his first professional contract with Saracens in 2012, and made his first appearance the following year. He received his first-call up to the England team in 2016 ahead of the annual Six Nations Championship, and became a firm favourite to both Saracens and England fans. So far in his rugby career, he has won four English Premiership titles with Saracens, three European Rugby Champions Cup titles, and three Six Nations Championship titles. Itoje has been selected for two

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

tours and in the second tour was voted the Lions Player of the series by his peers.

Early life

Maro Itoje was born in Camden,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

parents. He attended

Salcombe Preparatory School Salcombe Preparatory School is a co-educational preparatory school for approximately 200 pupils, located in Southgate, London, England. The school is currently owned and operated by Cognita. Founded in 1916, Salcombe is a co-educational prepa ...

in Southgate, North London at a primary level, before moving to board at St George's School in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. At St George's Itoje was first introduced to rugby at the age of eleven. He later won a scholarship to Harrow School, an independent school in London. As a schoolboy, Itoje played several sports including

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, football, rugby and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, representing

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at U17 level in shot put. He studied for a politics degree at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

in Bloomsbury, London at the same time as starting his rugby career.

Club career

His senior debut for Saracens came in the 2013–14 season, aged 19, when he played against Cardiff Blues in the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

. He made his Aviva Premiership debut against Leicester Tigers later in the same season. Prior to this he had played for Harpenden RFC at junior level (2005–11), then in the first team at Old Albanian RFC, usually as a lock (second row forward). During his time at Saracens he has won four Premiership titles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, with Itoje featuring in all four finals. He also helped Saracens win the European Champions Cup in 2016, 2017 and 2019. In the same season Itoje was named European Player of the Year.

International career

Itoje represented England at U18 and captained the England U20 team in the 2013–14 season. He scored a try in every 2014 Six Nations Under 20s Championship game and was England's Man of the Tournament. Also in 2014 Itoje with England won the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internation ...

co-captaining the side throughout the tournament. Itoje was called up to the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

squad on 21 January 2015 and made his debut against

Ireland Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (formerly Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. They previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams ...

on 30 January 2015. Itoje was selected for the

2015 Rugby World Cup training squad and received his first call-up to the senior

squad from new coach Eddie Jones on 13 January 2016 for the 2016 Six Nations Championship. He went on to make his first-team debut against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and was named Man of the Match for his performance in the win against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

on 12 March 2016. England later went on to win the Grand Slam. Itoje also played a starring role in the summer series win against Australia, starting all three Tests. Itoje was again instrumental in England's defence of the Six Nations title in 2017, this time starting all five games at blindside flanker rather than his more usual second row. Itoje was selected for the

for their tour of New Zealand, being the youngest player named in the 41-man squad, aged 22. He was one of the standout players on the tour, scoring one try against the Maori All Blacks and appearing in all three tests against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

. The Lions went on to draw the three-game series in the final test. He was again selected for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, which the tourists went on to lose in the closely fought 3rd game decider. He was again a standout player and was subsequently voted the Lions Player of the series by his peers.

International tries

''As of 17 November 2021''

Style of play

Itoje has been described by many as a hard-working player and also as a team leader, with many writers claiming him to be a "star player". He is mobile and agile for a lock forward, with the capacity to get into wide channels, make breaks through his speed, and claim turnovers in the

ruck Ruck may refer to: * Ruck (rugby union), a contesting for the ball in Rugby Union from a grounded player * Ruck (Australian rules football), an aerial contest in Australian rules football between rival ruckmen * Ruck (rugby league), the area sur ...

. He is also outstanding in the air, whether in the lineout or open play. Many believe he has no real weaknesses as a rugby player, though some have argued he does give away too many penalties in breakdowns.

Career honours

Saracens *

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

champions (4): 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018-19 *

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

champions: 2020–21 * European Rugby Champions Cup champions (3): 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018-19 * LV Cup champions: 2014-15 England U20s *

champions England * 2016 Six Nations Championship champions (3):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

* Grand Slam Champions:

*Triple Crown Winners (2):

* Autumn Nations Cup champions:

Individual * European Player of the Year:

* World Rugby Player of the Year nominee: 2016,2017,2021

Other interests

Itoje has expressed interests in politics and art.

References

External links

Maro Itoje
at the Saracens website.
Maro Itoje
at ESPN Scrum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Itoje, Maro 1994 births Living people Alumni of SOAS University of London Black British sportspeople British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players English people of Nigerian descent English rugby union players People educated at Harrow School Rugby union flankers Rugby union locks Rugby union players from London Borough of Camden Saracens F.C. players