British and Irish Lions squad for tour of Australia named, England's Maro Itoje captain

Itoje captained England to a second-place finish in this year's Six Nations in his first five matches since taking over from Jamie George.

"It is hard to articulate. It is a tremendous honour, a tremendous privilege," Itoje said.

"You think about the people who have held this position before and it is remarkable.

"It is an honour and I will do my very best so that I can contribute to a successful tour." Itoje is the first Englishman to captain the Lions in 24 years, following from World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson.

The 30-year-old Saracens lock has twice toured with the Lions in his career, playing in all six possible Tests.

Farrell said the phone reception was terrible when he initially called Itoje, so much so that he hung up.

However, he was able to call back and ask: "By the way, would you like to be British and Irish Lions captain?"

"The captain is the beacon. He is the leader, he is the person everyone looks up to," Farrell told the audience at London's O2 Arena.

"Not only because he is outstanding at his profession, but how he makes others feel.

"It takes a special person, that's for sure."

Itoje was only named captain of his club side, Saracens, this season and then took over as skipper of England at the start of the year, on the eve of the Six Nations.

Despite former coach Eddie Jones having questions over his captaincy, the towering lock was always considered captaincy material, ever since leading England to the Under 20 World Cup title in 2014.

British and Irish Lions squad: Forwards: Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England), Ben Earl (Saracens/England), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England), Maro Itoje (Saracens/England, Captain), Rónan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England), Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland), Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England), Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland).

Backs: Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Elliot Daly (Saracens/England), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland), James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England), Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland), Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales).

Story By Simon Smale

Original Story :  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-08/british-and-irish-lions-squad-for-tour-of-australia-named/105271306