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Maro Itoje should be England’s next captain following Owen Farrell‘s decision to make himself unavailable for the 2024 Six Nations.
Since 2016, Itoje has been the outstanding player in England, in terms of consistent excellence, and is virtually the only Red Rose forward who has been regularly in World XV contention.
It has not been plain sailing all the way, because the Saracens lock suffered a rare dip in form in the year leading into the 2023 World Cup, and this gave rise to speculation that he had contracted an illness – although no details were made public. Even so, when Itoje has been below par he has still operated at a higher standard than most Premiership players, and his solid contribution to Saracens winning their sixth English league title last season proved the point.
Despite being part of England’s Six Nations and World Cup warm-up slumps, Itoje rediscovered his mojo during the tournament, and helped the team to eventually make the most of being in the weaker side of the draw.
Itoje played a significant part in giving South Africa a nasty jolt in the semi-finals, including eclipsing his old adversary, Eben Etzebeth, to the extent that the Springbok bruiser was benched just after half-time.
The good news is that Itoje’s revival has continued strongly since his return to Premiership action. There is also no question that his track record as a Test Lion in 2017 and 2021 – as well as his credentials as a Junior World Cup-winning England U20 captain in 2014 – puts him on a higher captaincy trajectory than rivals like George Ford, Ellis Genge, and Jamie George.
At 33, George is unlikely to be an England hooker come the 2027 World Cup in Australia, while both Ford and Genge are not certain of their places in the England starting 15 going forward.
Ford faces fierce competition from Marcus Smith, while Genge’s scrummaging at Test level took another knock in England’s last quarter scrum implosion in the semi-final against the Springboks.
As a seasoned campaigner of 29, with 76 England caps, including a Six Nations Grand Slam and two further titles, as well as three European Cup titles and five Premierships, Itoje has the hallmarks to be a formidable England captain. There is also a cogent argument for giving the captaincy to a forward, mainly because of the significance of a lock with Itoje’s nous having a finger on the pulse of the main battle for possession, both practically and psychologically.
The only cloud on the horizon is that with Premiership marquee players reduced from two to one per club next season, Itoje is in danger of losing out at Saracens to Farrell. As a consequence, there are suggestions that the lock could lose half of his estimated £800,000 current salary, and a reduction to around £400,000 will take him into the transfer market when his contract ends this summer.
The RFU, which is in a panic about the Premiership losing more leading internationals to better-run French Top 14 clubs, has intimated that they could make up the shortfall through signing Itoje on one of their proposed England hybrid contracts, enabling him to stay in the Premiership.
The flap is unnecessary. While some England players will go to France to optimise their earnings, it will not be a mass exodus because most clubs can only include five non-French players – who are drawn from all over the globe — in each match 23. In addition, with the RFU facing significant financial strictures for the foreseeable future, hybrid contracts are an option fraught with pitfalls and contradictions.
It raises two overriding questions which leave RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney in a double bind. On one hand, why should he use RFU cash to bail out Premiership losses due to the huge wage inflation caused by the marquee player system? On the other, how can he justify punishing English players for earning more lucrative salaries with overseas clubs than are available to them in the broken Premiership model, by denying them the right to play for their country?
It is no surprise that Itoje has attracted interest from Top 14 clubs willing to pay more than his current Saracens deal – and it is incumbent on the RFU, which is supposed to have oversight of Premiership salary structures and regulations, to resolve the issue in the most financially responsible manner.
This means invoking its “exceptional circumstances” clause regarding English players at overseas clubs remaining eligible to play for England.
If Maro Itoje goes to France under exceptional circumstances it is a win-win. He will be better paid in a league which is far more competitive than the ring-fenced Premiership. Not only that, he will be eligible to captain England under Regulation 9 international release periods – and it will save the RFU coughing-up half a million quid for a hybrid contract.
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