It was a cold November afternoon in 2014 when Maro Itoje stopped in the Saracens car park to talk about his first experience as a senior captain. Here was a soft-spoken student, fresh out of Harrow School, who had just led his team to an LV Cup victory over Harlequins.
“As a young man, you feel like you have to earn respect,” he said, beads of sweat still running down his forehead from a display of action. Itoje had just turned 20 and had barely established himself in men's rugby, but he was already being talked about as a future England star.
“I hope to gain a little size and work my way into the first team,” he said of his international ambitions. “I'm only 20, so I'll be very disappointed if in five years I still have the same build.”
Itoje was considered by experts to be a senior international captain from the start. That or the Prime Minister, given his princely reputation as a poet and academic. An outstanding student who had already led England to victory at the Under-20 World Cup. From the start, his progression to the top felt like a rite of passage. A case of when, not if. The enthusiasm was there from the beginning, but it was backed up by Itoje's performances.
Many thought his appointment as England captain would come sooner, but there have been some challenges along the way. When Eddie Jones took over as England coach in 2015, the tough Australian thought it had all happened too easily. 'Where are your scars?' he asked her.
Jones compared it in the press to a Vauxhall Viva to counter its Rolls-Royce reputation, but Itoje was rarely fazed. He was called up to the Lions in 2017 and became accustomed to the VIP treatment. His reputation exploded and before long he was invited to perform with Anthony Joshua and visited the Miami home of American superstar rapper and music producer DJ Khaled. Last week, by coincidence, he was signed by the same management agency that represents England football captain Harry Kane.
Maro Itoje, new England captain ahead of the Six Nations
It is a role he always seemed destined for, but former coach Eddie Jones (left) was not convinced of his leadership qualities.
Itoje led England Under-20s to World Cup glory in 2014 and will now lead his country at senior level.
However, there was always a sense of unease in his relationship with Jones, who deep down was never convinced of Itoje's leadership credentials.
“I may be wrong, but I am not sure that Maro is the future England captain,” Jones wrote in his book. “He's going to be one of the great players, but Maro is very introspective. He leads himself better than anyone. He doesn't usually influence people off the field.
At Saracens, there was anger at Jones' comments. Itoje didn't start playing rugby until his teens and has never been the old-school figure leading the chants at the back of the bus. Art galleries are more your thing. Instead, he leads by example with high-intensity displays. A guiding pillar of physique and athletics.
He turned down a big-money move to Racing 92 last year and committed his future to Saracens, named club captain in September. After maintaining silence on Jones, he responded with charged diplomacy at his club captaincy inauguration a few months ago.
“I felt like it was a misdiagnosis of who I am,” Itoje said. 'Most people who know me, most people who read those comments and who know me, would say that's an inaccurate conclusion about who I am as a person. I guess it was unfortunate that your coach said something like that about you, but in life not everyone is going to see things the way you see them.
Responding to Jones' claims that he was sent to acting lessons to improve his leadership skills, he added: “I can confirm that I never went to acting lessons.” I worked with the psychologist at the time in terms of how to communicate more clearly and convey a message more effectively. I wasn't waltzing on stage practicing my Shakespearean prose.'
Following Owen Farrell's departure to France, Itoje has settled into the role and steered the club through difficult waters. As an Arsenal fan, he speaks of his desire to emulate the elegant authority of Patrick Vieira.
During the autumn internationals, fuel was added to the England captaincy debate, and Itoje's name was never far from the conversation. Jamie George was steadily taken off the field around the hour mark, watching from the sidelines as England fell into the habit of suffering late defeats.
Itoje has stepped up after replacing Owen Farrell as Saracens captain this season.
He will now take over from Jamie George (left) at international level
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With George's starting role under pressure from Theo Dan and Luke Cowan-Dickie, Borthwick was left with no option but to make a change in leadership. Asked how George took the news, which was first revealed by Mail Sport, Borthwick said on Tuesday: “Jamie is disappointed, as anyone would be. “He is a very proud Englishman and has led the team for the last 12 months. with great pride.”
It is one of the most important decisions of Borthwick's tenure. A symbolic move to remove the armband from George after less than a year as captain, as England desperately try to overcome their disappointing 2024.
In Itoje he has an 80-minute warrior. A tireless nuisance on the field of play. The couple met in a cafe in Harpenden on Monday and Borthwick outlined their plans for the future. “When I asked Maro to captain the team, the smile on his face could have lit up the whole of England,” he said. “He was delighted and very humble. He will do everything he can to help serve this team and be the best leader he can be.
'I said I want him to be the captain in his own way. Everyone sees the commitment with which he plays. Every England fan sees the commitment with which he plays.
“When you have someone who fights so hard for the jersey and for his team, he's someone everyone can relate to. It's 'I'd like to be guided by that guy.' That's the nature of what he plays with.”
For now, the appointment has shifted the narrative away from political infighting at Twickenham. On Tuesday, Borthwick explained that Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will undergo shoulder surgery later this week, that George Furbank could return in the later rounds of the Six Nations and that Sam Underhill will not feature at all.
He added that No. 8 Tom Willis was impossible to overlook as he answered questions about Itoje's potential to take the team to the World Cup in Australia in two-and-a-half years.
Steve Borthwick believes Itoje is capable of taking England to the 2027 World Cup
Itoje has faced every challenge in his career to date and there is no doubt he will thrive as captain.
“As we sit here now, I don't see why not,” he said. 'If you ask any coach, the preference would always be to have the captain for 80 minutes. That is not always possible and there are many exceptions to that case. But in general I think those would be the preferences of most coaches.
“I returned to the England team as head coach two years ago and what struck me about Maro, having been away for a number of years, is that he thinks very well under pressure. He stays calm under pressure.
'The diligence with which he carries out his work each day is first class. The way he stands in front of the group and talks to them about how we are going to carry out the game on the weekend. When I look at the players, the way they look at him, I say, “This is a guy that the players will really root for and follow.”
There is no doubt that Itoje will be up to the role. It has felt like his destiny from the beginning.