Itoje: Excited about England, but grounded after victory

England captain Maro Itoje expressed his enthusiasm for his team’s potential, although he stressed that there is still a long way to go to achieve their goals. England’s 27-23 victory over Argentina on Sunday marked their eleventh consecutive test match win this year, remaining undefeated at home throughout 2025. Their last defeat dates back to the Six Nations in Dublin against Ireland in February. Since then, the team led by Steve Borthwick has defeated Scotland, France, New Zealand, and Australia, among others. The team’s depth has also improved, as demonstrated by the outstanding performance of Max Ojomoh, who was named player of the match in his second test match.

I’ve been part of the England team for several years and I’m as excited now as ever.

Maro Itoje

Itoje was satisfied with his autumn campaign, which included victories over the Wallabies, the All Blacks, Fiji and Argentina, but urged caution and avoided getting ahead of himself.

Itoje highlighted the quality and depth of the team, as well as the improvement in the game. He acknowledged that there is still work to be done, but emphasized the group’s enthusiasm for continuing to improve.

I think we made some progress and I’m very excited for the future. I think the team has a long way to go to become the team we want to be, but that’s the exciting part.

Maro Itoje

Borthwick agreed that the team has progressed both as a unit and individually.

The team is following the progress we’ve talked about. We said it’s a journey, and I’ve said it several times, I’m not sure they necessarily believed me, about the level of experience in the team, the matches together, the level of experience coming off the bench.

Steve Borthwick

Borthwick also mentioned that the autumn series has allowed us to continue with that development.