Maro Itoje

THE NEW LIONS CAPTAIN SETS OUT HIS STALL FOR A SUCCESSFUL LIONS TOUR DOWN UNDER

- 

NOTHING GOOD normally comes from calls from an unknown number. But when Maro Itoje's phone flashed up with an Irish number and the caller started speaking with a strong Wigan accent, he knew what it meant. Andy Farrell was trying to offer him the job of Lions captain for the tour to Australia but a dodgy line wasn't helping. “I put two and two together,” says Itoje with a broad grin. “It's honestly amazing. It's hard to articulate. You have a new family when you're with the Lions.

“There's a reason why there are four emblems (on the badge) because when you get there, this is your new family. You're not thinking from an English point of view or a Welsh point of view, you're thinking from a Lions point of view.

“I look forward to embracing all my team-mates and all of the fans. Whenever I've been with the Lions, I've always been taken aback by how nice the Irish are to me - and the Welsh and the Scottish! In between that four-year window (Lions tours), I don't tend to get many compliments from them! It's nice.”

That conversation between coach and captain took place on the Tuesday before the squad was announced on the Thursday and Itoje had to do his bit to try and keep things under wraps, only telling his immediate family about the big news.

While the man himself did not even know at the time, Itoje's colleagues at Saracens were very suspicious about the fact his brother's wedding took place on that same Monday. The Saracens skipper got permission from boss Mark McCall to take the afternoon off to enjoy the celebrations but some were just not buying it.

“Unbeknownst to me, a lot of people were like, 'There's no way this guy's at a wedding! Who gets married on a Monday?! Nobody does!'

“I almost had to show them video evidence that I was at a wedding for them to believe it wasn't something to do with the Lions.”