The absence of England’s Nigerian-born rugby national team captain, Maro Itoje from the squad’s latest list of invitees has left fans of the game in a heated debate and many eyebrows raised, but the coach, Steve Borthwick insists ‘it’s very realistic.’
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Sports247 reports that the development means Itoje will miss England’s non-cap fixture against France on Friday and could also be absent from the side’s three competitive fixtures next month, thereby bringing up many questions.
However, despite the furore, Borthwick argued that Itoje needs a rest, hence his decision to leave the captain out of the roster, with a hint that he could also be absent versus South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in July’s Nations Championship.
Borthwick recounted that he had already disclosed in May the idea of resting Itoje for the tournament after a ‘challenging year’ that included an Irish Lions tour, Six Nations campaign and death of the player’s mother in November 2025.
The Lions’ coach told Sky Sports News: “There’s been an ongoing conversation regarding Maro and whether he’s part of the England squad this summer. I think that we look at each player on an individual basis.
“By the fact that he’s not in the squad, and was only in one day of the last alignment camp, it’s certainly an intention that Maro has an opportunity for a different type of summer, one where he’s not involved with the England team.”
