Maro Itoje to be named Lions captain

Maro Itoje will be unveiled as British & Irish Lions captain on Thursday and become only the second Englishman to lead the famous touring side in the professional era.

With Ireland captain Caelan Doris almost certain to miss the tour to Australia after undergoing shoulder surgery this week, head coach Andy Farrell will turn to Itoje, the England and Saracens second row. The 30-year-old will be present at an event at the O2 in London as Farrell unveils his squad to tour Australia in front of an estimated 2000 supporters.

The captain will be the only player to find out in advance of Lions chairman Ieuan Evans reading out the names of the touring squad from 2pm. Telegraph Sport understands that Farrell is likely to select a squad of 40 players with a split of 22 forwards to 18 backs subject to any late changes of heart.

Itoje was one of the standout stars of the 2017 and 2021 Lions tours, starting all six Tests in the series draw with New Zealand and the 2-1 defeat to South Africa respectively. Yet this is his first season as a full-time captain of both Saracens and England where he took over from hooker Jamie George for the 2025 Six Nations.

After losing their opening match away to Ireland, Itoje led England to four straight victories and a second-place finish behind champions France. He will become the first English captain since Martin Johnson led the Lions in a 2-1 series defeat to the Wallabies in 2001.

Only Tommy Freeman has played more rugby among English players than Itoje this season but as Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall commented he has maintained his high standards despite the increased mental and physical load. “He has thrived on the England captaincy as well and he played really well in the Six Nations but he has played even better for us since then,” McCall said. “Maro has absolutely thrived on all of that leadership. He is playing as well as he has ever played so if he is chosen to be captain the good news is that he’s right on top of his game at the moment and he’s fit as he can be. He is feeling good about his body and I have been super impressed with the way he’s gone about the captaincy at our club.”

It remains to be seen whether Farrell’s decision would have been different had Doris not injured his shoulder in the second half of Leinster’s 37-34 defeat to Northampton in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final. Before his secondment to the Lions, Ireland head coach Farrell had appointed Doris as his captain and the No 8 had long been seen as the front-runner to lead the tourists. However after undergoing an operation on Tuesday, it is understood that there is a pessimistic outlook on Doris playing any part in the Lions.

On Tuesday, Leicester director of rugby Michael Cheika revealed that George Martin will not play again for the club this season while Exeter boss Rob Baxter confirmed that the winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will be “touch-and-go to be available for the last game of the season”.