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

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

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 upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

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 The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

titles, and three

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

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 Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

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 in Southgate, North London at a primary level, before moving to board at St George's School in

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. H ...

, Hertfordshire. At St George's Itoje was first introduced to rugby at the age of eleven. He later won a scholarship to

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

, 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), competiti ...

, 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 ...

at U17 level in

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. 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 are ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

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

Club career

His senior debut for

came in the 2013–14 season, aged 19, when he played against

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff ...

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 club ...

. He made his

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is th ...

debut against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its ho ...

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 Internatio ...

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 team ...

on 30 January 2015. Itoje was selected for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

training squad and received his first call-up to the senior

squad from new coach

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

on 13 January 2016 for the

2016 Six Nations Championship The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It ...

. 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

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 198 ...

. 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

turnover Turnover or turn over may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *''Turn Over'', a 1988 live album by Japanese band Show-Ya * Turnover (band), an American rock band *"Turnover", a song on Fugazi's 1990 album '' Repeater'' *''Turnover'', a Japane ...

s in the ruck. 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 Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * P ...

in breakdowns.

Career honours

Saracens * English Premiership 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, whe ...

champions:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

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

champions England *

champions (3): 2016,

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 ser ...

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 ...

* Grand Slam Champions: 2016 *Triple Crown Winners (2): 2016,

* Autumn Nations Cup champions:

Individual * European Player of the Year: 2016 *

World Rugby Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an accolade awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. The award is presented to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". T ...

nominee: 2016,2017,2021

Other interests

Itoje has expressed interests in politics and art.

References

External links

Maro Itoje
at the

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