‘We’re there for him’ – England will rally around grieving Itoje

Jamie George, a club and country team-mate, predicts that as Maro Itoje’s mother passes away, England will unite around the captain.

Itoje traveled to Nigeria for the funeral, so he missed the Six Nations launch event in Edinburgh on Monday.

Following a few weeks of lung cancer diagnosis, George’s own mother passed away during the 2024 Six Nations.

The British and Irish Lions have toured with him three times and he said, “I’ve been through it myself.”

“It’s a very difficult time for him and his family,” he said.

He has carried himself in such a remarkable way over the past few months. The key is that he has had enough space to grieve and mourn.

“It has been incredible how he has consistently shown up and put the team first.”

At the end of the Saracens’ season or, if chosen, once England’s Rugby World Cup campaign is over, George, 35, has made a statement that he intends to retire from the sport in 2027.

You never know when your final game will be, he continued, “I’m hoping to be to play a part in next year’s Six Nations.”

“I’ll set that date, I’ll probably finish,” I thought.

“Every moment of my playing for England has been one that I’ve always enjoyed, and it just reinforces how much I need to embrace every aspect of it, whether it be good or bad, or the ugly.”