Maro Itoje Downplays Leadership Concerns After On-Field Exchange

England captain Maro Itoje has insisted there is “no crack” in the team’s leadership group following an on-field disagreement with fly-half Fin Smith and vice-captains Ellis Genge and Jamie George during the 23-18 Six Nations defeat to Italy on Saturday. The exchange centered around a debate over whether to opt for a penalty kick at goal or an attacking line-out.

Incident During Italy Match

The discussion occurred early in the second half at the Stadio Olimpico, culminating in Itoje instructing Smith, “Don’t argue with me. Capture the three.” Itoje maintains the incident was a normal part of the game and has been overblown due to the loss.

“There’s no crack. There’s no crack between us. Fin’s a good guy and I get on with him very well,” Itoje stated. “When you have good relationships with people you’re able to have those sorts of conversations and are able to move on from it pretty quickly. There was no residue from that. Naturally, I guess because of the loss, it was made into a bigger thing than it actually was.”

Itoje on His Approach and Team Dynamics

Itoje, likewise captain of the British & Irish Lions, laughed off suggestions he had “lost it” on the field, noting it was the first time he’d been captured on microphone in such a moment. He emphasized his desire to hear the views of key decision-makers, particularly the fly-half.

“Fin is my guy. As always, the way I try to do things is I like to hear what my key decision makers think of what is going on, and whoever plays 10 they will obviously have an important role in that,” Itoje explained. “I initially asked what we thought we should do and I guess he expressed a view, I expressed a view, and I just wanted to quickly move on to the next thing. I actually think it’s a good thing that people in the team feel they can express a view and in sport, if anything, that’s the most kosher of fallouts that the world has ever seen. We have had far more blunt conversations between ourselves and other teammates! There’s no really biggie. After that interaction, we even laughed about it a little bit on the pitch as well.”

Preparations for France Match

The England squad arrived in Paris on Thursday after a three-day training camp in Verona. Head coach Steve Borthwick has made one change to the starting lineup for the match against France, with Ollie Chessum replacing Sam Underhill at blindside flanker.

Borthwick received a vote of confidence from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) following the defeat to Italy and will be under pressure to demonstrate his ability to lead England to the 2027 World Cup. Maro Itoje reached 100 international test caps on July 19, 2025, with 93 appearances for England and 7 for the British & Irish Lions.

As of November 8, 2025, Itoje has made 201 appearances for Saracens, scoring 140 points. He has won five Premiership titles and three European titles with the club.