Itoje puts his degree on hold to hunt with Lions
England forward is preparing for his greatest test against the All Blacks but talks to Oliver Brown about life away from the game – his love of politics, desire for education and why he is proud of Anthony Joshua
Seldom is there such intensity in Maro Itoje’s soulful eyes as when politics is broached. It almost seems a pity, given a natural passion for causes that has moved him to identify as a liberal feminist and a Barack Obama devotee, that he is missing all the intrigue of a general election campaign for a Lions tour to New Zealand. At a time when every party is fixated with shaking millennials out of indolence and into polling stations, the country needs all the inquiring 22-year-old minds it can muster.
“I’ve always been interested, since I was 15 or 16, in the nature of politics and how it works, how it comes together,” Itoje says. As part of his degree in the subject at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, he has two final courses to complete: State and Politics in Africa and the Politics of Development. “I’m fascinated by why certain areas have developed quicker than others, which development strategies are optimum. I’ve always found it an interesting sphere to think about.” This is, it would be fair to say, not the usual thread of ice-bath conversation. Heaven knows what nicknames James Haskell, the Lions’ selfstyled ‘Archbishop of Banterbury’, will have found for his touring partner after the next six weeks of living in each other’s pockets. Even Eddie Jones, once a teacher in his native Sydney, reacts with amusement to Itoje’s insouciant juggling of life as an international loose forward and dedicated scholar. “He is doing an essay on the socio-economic status of Ghana, or something,” Jones said, after England’s Six Nations defeat by Ireland. “I couldn’t understand what he was on about.”
As we talk in an executive box at Allianz Park, his home turf with Saracens, Itoje, a totem of a lock whose fearsome presence belies the softness of his voice, is already deep in revision mode for the first of two final exams he needs to sit to earn his BA. The second comes later this summer, his tutors having kindly agreed to tailor a schedule around the small matter of a Lions series against the All Blacks. SOAS has ushered through its gates an eclectic assortment of students, from Aung San Suu Kyi to Paul Robeson, and for Itoje it offers a perfect compromise, being both accommodating enough to fit around his rugby and a place of sufficient academic rigour to satisfy his highly qualified Nigerian parents.
Both father Efe, who holds a masters in mathematics, and mother Florence, who works in property, were adamant that their children should make no scholastic shortcuts for the sake of sport. “They were instrumental in instilling the significance of education in me and in my siblings,” Itoje explains. “My brother has two degrees and my sister is in the second year of law. The same ethic is in all of us. It’s important. It makes you a more rounded individual.”
There are parallels, in terms of their curiosity for a world beyond the oval ball, between Itoje and Wallabies flanker David Pocock. Both are feted for the innate athleticism, coupled with prodigious training, that has made them among the best in their positions on the planet. Both are politically engaged: Pocock and his girlfriend, Emma Palandri, refuse to wed until gay marriage is legalised in Australia, while Itoje
‘I have matured. I feel I can see the bigger picture now – much more than four years ago’
‘They punch well above their weight. But we are on our own journey and have our own path’
was unafraid to hitch himself to the Remain wagon during the Brexit debate. Both also have novel forms of escapism, with Pocock preferring a box set of David Attenborough and Itoje claiming to unwind by watching documentaries about African leaders from Idi Amin to Steve Biko.
It is a celebrated detail of Itoje’s story that he attended Harrow on a sports scholarship, acquiring three As at A-level, and a purity of singing talent that won him admission to the school choir. On the side, he once indulged a passion for poetry, although he tends to sigh deeply whenever this is mentioned. Any adventures in verse now are, he says, most infrequent, having been superseded by his interest in current affairs. But whom in rugby does he find to share his interest? “Well,” he says, trying to think of kindred spirits among his Saracens team-mates, “they call Jackson Wray David Cameron – if you ever see him, you can ask him why.”
Itoje, whose stunning career arc has encompassed back-to-back Champions Cup triumphs for his club and consecutive Six Nations titles for his country, draws inspiration from far outside the rugby bubble. His face – remarkably unblemished for a player so fierce – lights up at the mention of Anthony Joshua. It is not difficult to see why, given the common ground of their Nigerian ancestry and their joint billing as the supreme physical specimens in their chosen crafts. “I’m very proud of Anthony Joshua,” he says, smiling. “He’s a great representative of boxing and of sport in general.
“I’m an Arsenal fan, too, although I wouldn’t always say I’m inspired by them. I loved Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira. In basketball, I looked up to Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’neal.”
Any coach who has ever mentored Itoje, all 6ft 5in and 18st of him, agrees that he is an irresistible force of nature. Jesse Coulson, his rugby master at Harrow, talks effusively of his leadership abilities, while Paul Gustard, England’s defence coach, has heralded him as a once-in-ageneration player, fit to be bracketed with Martin Johnson and Paul O’connell, former Lions captains both. It is testament to how well he has adjusted that he regards these eulogies with not a hint of conceit.
Asked if he has surprised himself with the speed of his ascent, he replies: “You always have aspirations. Once you reach a certain level, you always look to the next goal. The last couple of years have been amazing, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing. I feel as if I’ve matured as a person and a player. I feel as if I can see the bigger picture of things now, much more than four years ago.
“I’m not as anxious before games. I’m more confident in my own skin. I understand the details around a performance that you don’t fully appreciate when you just watch a game. I understand how important each and every part is to make a team tick like clockwork.”
Come the first Test in Auckland on June 24, Itoje’s duties will involve far more than safeguarding the Lions’ cuddly mascot, as he did on this week’s flight to New Zealand. For Warren Gatland, he promises to be a linchpin, a natural first choice for the second row alongside George Kruis, his Saracens brother-in-arms. The only issue is his need to show abrasiveness – in his first team meeting as England head coach, Jones goaded him about his lack of scars – but Itoje reassures that he can be as aggressive as they come. “I’m a fairly passionate guy,” he says. “Some games you get more emotional than others.”
As one of whom such greatness is expected, ‘Super Maro’ follows a fairly ascetic regime. Still single, living with his brother Jeremy in a flat near the Saracens ground, he avoids the excess or spontaneity of youth. “For me it is about turning your profession into a lifestyle,” he says. “In boxing, they go in and out of season, whereas for us it is all year around. I need to be able to sustain myself through the winter. The aim is always to get a little bit stronger, faster, fitter.”
With New Zealand in his crosshairs, Itoje is seeking to deliver the type of masterclass that justifies all the breathless plaudits. It could help that he heads to Eden Park with experience, having led England to victory there in the Under-20 World Cup final in 2014. “They’re clearly an incredible sporting nation,” he acknowledges. “Successive World Cups? It has not been seen before. They punch well above their weight. But we are on our own journey and we have own path to create.”
As for Itoje’s meteoric progress, he is wary of glimpsing too far ahead.
“I’m not going to make grand observations,” he says. “It’s year-on-year. If I can say, ‘I’m a better player this year than I was last year’, it’s a success for me.”
It is the type of elegantly hedged answer of which a politician would be proud. Speaking of which, might he one day make the business of Parliament his vocation rather than merely his study focus? “I think I could – but I don’t think I want to. I enjoy the learning and theory. I’m not so sure I would enjoy the implementation.”
Maro Itoje was speaking at the launch of the latest video in the Ricoh Rugby Change Series, which looks at changes in rugby since professionalism. Visit www.ricoh.co.uk/rugbychange