Maro Itoje's underlying health condition diagnosed before the World Cup

Somewhat against the odds, England find themselves on the brink of another World Cup final, as they face their 2019 foes South Africa in Paris.

It's hard to ever rule England out when you take stock of some of the players they have on their side. Whether it's the reliable boot of Owen Farrell or the lightning speed of Freddie Steward, the squad is stacked with talent - and few players have caught the eye over the last 10 years as much as Maro Itoje.

The 6ft 5in flanker has become an integral part of England sides under Borthwick and his predecessor Eddie Jones, making a huge impact as a teenager and winning international plaudits before his 21st birthday. Now 28, he is now a role model for some of the younger squad members in France and there are few better to learn from given what he has achieved in the game, particularly with his club side Saracens.

Having been involved in the final against the Springboks four years ago, Itoje will again be crucial to England's chances of causing a semi-final upset, with all eyes likely to be on him at the Stade de France. But he's not just a star on the rugby field - in fact, there's far more to him than meets the eye.

Rise to Test rugby

Born in Camden to Nigerian parents in 1994, Itoje was first introduced to rugby at the age of 11 and later won a scholarship to Harrow School. It wasn't his only talent, however, as he also played basketball, football and competed in athletics, representing England at the shotput at U17 level.

Having represented Harpenden RFC and Old Albanian RFC as a youngster, the flanker moved to Saracens and made his senior debut for the club in the 2013/14 season, aged 19.

To date, he has won five Premiership titles with Sarries, featuring in all five finals, while he also helped his side to European Champions Cup glory in 2016, 2017 and 2019. In 2016, his fine form saw him named European Player of the Year at the age of just 21.

On the international stage, Itoje represented England at U18 level and captained the U20 side, starring in the U20 Six Nations before winning the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship as co-captain.

He was selected for England's 2015 World Cup training squad and while he didn't make the cut for the tournament, he received his first-call up to the senior squad from new coach Eddie Jones ahead of the 2016 Six Nations. After making his debut against Italy, a man of the match performance against Wales helped cement him in the side as they went on to win the Grand Slam before defending their title the following year.

Itoje's relentless work rate, outstanding aerial ability and phenomenal defensive work have seen him become an instrumental figure in England sides over the last two World Cup cycles. His talent has also been recognised by his selection for two Lions tours, with the flanker being recognised as a standout player in New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021.

However, ahead of this year's World Cup, he had struggled to reach the levels he had set previously, with some pundits criticising him for his performances during the 2023 Six Nations. However, he shed some light on the situation as he revealed he had been struggling with an undisclosed "underlying" health condition.

“I guess over the last year or so there have been things which have probably affected my conditioning, which has resulted in me being perhaps a little less energised,” the Saracens talisman told i. “There have been injury bits, a few niggles, a few things that I’ve had ongoing which I didn’t know were ongoing.

“It was some health things behind, which I know have had an impact. Due to how I was feeling it probably wasn’t the quality of what I would expect for myself. All of that has kind of been resolved over the last three weeks. I’m now in, I think, a much better position.”

"I don’t think I’ve been terrible,” he added. “I don’t think I’ve gone on the pitch being, you know, a liability. I still think I’ve made an impact, I don’t think I’ve been a dud on the field. It was an underlying thing, which none of us knew was going on. Through doing some checks, we were able to ID it and then rectify it.”

A man of many talents

He may be among the best rugby players in the world, but Itoje wears many hats and is also a model, activist, art promoter and political thinker, among other noble pursuits.

At the same time he started his rugby career, he studied for a politics degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies and has a long-standing interest in African art, even presenting an exhibition at London's Signature African Art gallery in 2021, featuring work from African and diaspora artist.

He is also a busy activist, using his plafrom to discuss and educate on issues around race, class and gender in sport and wider society. In 2021, Itoje became a patron of The Black Curriculum - which aims to have black British history taught in the UK schools curriculum all year round, while he has collaborated with various afro-Caribbean charities and attended Black Lives Matter marches.

One of the most politically engaged sportsmen in the UK, he has also taken an individual stand against England's famous rugby anthem 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot', after discovering its origins in American slavery.

“I’m not going to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do but, personally, I won’t sing this song again,” Itoje told L’Equipe.

“I sang it before when I was naive and didn’t know its origins but, now knowing the context in the creation of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, it’s not an anthem that I’m going to repeat any more.”

Also off the field, Itoje has modelled for the likes of Ralph Lauren and Marks & Spencer, while two years ago he signed with Jay-Z's sport management agency Roc Nation, which also represents the likes of Siya Kolisi, Ardie Savea and teammate Ellis Genge.

Two huge scandals

Itoje was caught up in the scandal surrounding Saracens in 2020, when the club was found to have breached the Premiership salary cap and were subsequently relegated from the league.

According to leaked documents first obtained by Sky News, the flanker was paid £1.6m for a 30 per cent stake in a company that controlled his image rights, while he was also paid £95,000 over three years by a hospitality company based at Allianz Park, with no evidence that he attended events.

For the former scenario, the shares were only judged to be worth £800,000 based on a different valuation, with Premiership Rugby deciding Saracens overpaid the star so they could underpay him in 'normal' salary that they thought would count to the cap.

The England international was also embroiled in another scandal in 2018, when his agent Matt Hart was handed a 22-month ban by the RFU after being found guilty of breaching betting regulations.