Rugby: Maro Itoje is first Englishman to captain Lions since 2001

Maro Itoje will captain the British and Irish Lions squad for the upcoming rugby tour of Australia. The 30-year-old lock is the first Englishman to captain the Lions since Martin Johnson in 2001 and will be heading on his third tour, after 2017 and 2021. Itoje is England captain but only since January.

He has just led his country to a second-place finish in the Six Nations and has made 93 caps for England across nine years. Itoje was present at the announcement of the Lions squad on Thursday in front of an audience of more than 2,000 rugby fans at The O2 arena in London.

When he was named as captain by Lions coach Andy Farrell, Itoje walked out in full Lions uniform — holding the lion mascot, Bill — to warm applause.

“It’s a tremendous honor and a tremendous privilege," said Itoje, who revealed he got a phone call from Farrell on Tuesday but could barely hear him speak because it was a bad line.

After hanging up, Farrell needed to phone Itoje back to offer him the captaincy. Itoje's path to the Lions captaincy might have been cleared by Caelan Doris, the Ireland captain, requiring a procedure on his shoulder after getting injured playing for Leinster against Northampton at the weekend.

Doris and Itoje were reportedly vying for the role of leading the Lions, one of the biggest honors in rugby.

The Lions, a team representing the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, won the test series against the Wallabies the last time they toured Australia, in 2013. They have since drawn the series against New Zealand in 2017 and lost in South Africa in 2021.

For the latest tour, the Lions will play three tests against the Wallabies, along with six more games in Australia — against Western Force, Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies, an Invitational Australia and New Zealand XV, and a First Nations and Pasifika XV. The tour begins with a match against Argentina in Dublin on June 20 and ends with the series-closing third test on Aug. 2.