Maro Itoje has been named captain of the British and Irish Lions for this summer’s tour of Australia.
Itoje, 30, becomes the second Englishman to captain the Lions in the professional era, following in the footsteps of Martin Johnson, who led the tourists in 1997 and 2001. Itoje’s appointment as Lions captain was confirmed at an event at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday.
Itoje was shaping up as the favorite to lead Andy Farrell’s team after Ireland’s Caelan Doris suffered a shoulder injury in Leinster’s Champions Cup defeat to Northampton Saints on Saturday. The injury required surgery for Doris, and Leinster feared it was a “serious” setback.
Itoje is already a two-time Lion, having played against the All Blacks in 2017 and South Africa in 2021. He will now captain the team in their quest for their first series win against the Wallabies since 2013.
Maro Itoje has been named captain of the British & Irish Lions.
He has enjoyed a brilliant 2024-25 campaign and captained both Saracens and England. The 2025 Six Nations was his first championship in charge of England and he impressed in the role, while maintaining brilliant form.
For a long time, this seemed to be a two-horse race for the Lions captaincy. While names like Owen Farrell and Jamie George were mentioned, Doris and Itoje were widely considered the frontrunners.
Lions coach Farrell is on loan from Ireland for this summer’s series, and one of his last acts as Ireland coach before the sabbatical was to choose Doris to captain his team in the November 2024 tests. Doris took on this role in the 2025 championship, but Itoje’s reputation grew during the Six Nations after a series of eye-catching performances.
Thus, Itoje joins an elite group who have captained the Lions. The professional era saw Johnson lead the Lions to South Africa in 1997 and then to Australia in 2001. Brian O’Driscoll captained the tourists against the All Blacks in 2005, Paul O’Connell took on the honor for the trip to South Africa in 2009 and Sam Warburton captained them against Australia in 2013 and New Zealand in 2017. The last time in South Africa, it was the great Alun Wyn Jones of Wales.
Doris’s injury was incredibly unfortunate. She missed the 2021 tour with concussion, and this shoulder injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. Now it’s Itoje’s time and he will do an exceptional job.
There will be much anticipation with the Lions’ captaincy, and he will shake approximately 1.2 million hands in the next three months, but when it comes to leading his team against the Wallabies, he will do so by example and with well-judged moments of encouragement.
