The former England manager said the Saracens second-row “is too introverted” to be a good England captain.
In his book Leadership: Lessons from My Life in Rugby (Leadership: Lessons from my life in rugby) published in 2021, Eddie Jones, then England coach, had scratched his second-row Maro Itoje, who was nevertheless considered one of the best in the world in his position. “He’s going to be one of the great players, but Maro is too introverted… He doesn’t usually influence people off the pitch.”he had snapped. Adding: “I may be wrong, but I’m not sure Maro is a future England captain.”
Time has done its work, Eddie Jones is now coaching Japan after a resounding failure with Australia (not qualified for the quarter-finals of the last World Cup in France, a first in a World Cup) and the 29-year-old Saracens second-row, who now has 84 caps with the XV de la Rose since 2016, responded to his critics in front of the British press.
Most people who read these comments and know me will say that was an inaccurate conclusion about who I am as a person.
Maro Itoje
“I felt like it was a misdiagnosis of who I am, Itoje said. Most people who read these comments and know me will say that was an inaccurate conclusion about who I am as a person.” And to continue: “I think it’s unfortunate that your coach would say something like that about you, but in life, not everyone sees things the same way you do, he estimated. Even if it’s wrong, some people will come to a different conclusion. That’s part of the game… I just wanted to stay consistent with what I thought I was.”
In the Under-20s, Maro Itoje captained England during the 2014 Tournament, which finished in second place after an opening defeat against France (21-15). England coach Steve Borthwick recently named him vice-captain of the XV de la Rose after Owen Farrell retired (left for Racing 92), handing the armband to his club teammate, hooker Jamie George, during the last Six Nations Tournament, which finished in 3rd place behind Ireland and France.
“I wasn’t waltzing around on stage declaiming Shakespeare prose!”
Last August, Maro Itoje was named captain of Saracens, who were beaten in the semi-final of the Premiership last year by Northampton (22-20), eventual champions. For Mark McCall, the director of rugby at the London club, Itoje “is the epitome of the Saracens player: a man dedicated to his craft, kind and compassionate to his team-mates, and diligent in pursuing his studies and charity work off the pitch. He has always led by example“.
Eddie Jones had even suggested that Maro Itoje was taking drama classes to improve his communication. “I can confirm that I have never taken drama classes, the person concerned denied. We had a psychologist at the time. I worked with him at the time to figure out how to communicate more clearly and get a message across more effectively. I wasn’t waltzing around on stage declaiming Shakespeare’s prose!”
