‘Cool, calm and collected’: Maro Itoje earns place in pantheon of Lions greats

Maro Itoje’s place in the pantheon of British & Irish Lions greats was not in doubt before Saturday’s remarkable series-clinching victory, but after it you sense we may come to wonder whether there has ever been better. He joins Sam Warburton and Martin Johnson having led the Lions to a series victory in the professional era. Do not bet against him sticking around to tour New Zealand in four years’ time.

Itoje’s performance was not flawless on a wild night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when the Lions somehow came back from 18 points down. No one wearing red could lay claim to that. He made mistakes – plenty of them – in the first half.

But he deserves enormous credit for how he guided the Lions back into the contest towards the end of the first half and into the lead in the final minute. The Lions have not been tested like this since they arrived in Australia more than a month ago, but their response demonstrated their level of character.

“Cool, calm and collected. He was outstanding in his captaincy,” said the head coach, Andy Farrell. “As the game started to unfold in front of us he was calm and he understood what was needed. How he communicated with the referee and [dealt] with the flow of the game was absolutely spot on. If you listened back to it you’d recognise what a class act he was.”

Two second-half interventions stood out. Winning a penalty at the breakdown in the 63rd minute and sacking an Australian maul with eight minutes remaining. Both were key moments in swinging the game back in favour of his side. The latter was greeted by a roar of delight from Farrell in the coaches’ box, so aware was he of the importance.

View image in fullscreen A crunching Maro Itoje tackle stops Tom Lynagh in his tracks. Photograph: David Davies/PA

This was Itoje’s 33rd match of the season and he has started all of them. By any measure – including those dictated by the Rugby Football Union – that is too many and there have been times along the way he has looked exhausted. His ability to raise his level of performance when the pressure is at its greatest is a remarkable talent to possess, however.

Having been the Lions player of the tour in 2021 he was named man of the match in this victory that clinched a first series win in 12 years and he found himself in front of the cameras. It was a rare occasion when you had to disagree with him. “We got the win and that’s all that matters,” he said, but how this stunning contest played out matters a whole lot more.

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The Lions were 1-4 favourites to wrap up the series. They have been talking loudly and proudly about targeting a 3-0 whitewash. Another dominant, one-sided affair would have sucked the life out of the series, but it is not an exaggeration to say that a contest as dramatic as this breathes some much-needed life into the concept of the Lions.

That winning is all that matters has come to be a stick with which to beat the Lions. They have not won hearts and minds here and their laser focus on winning above all else has jarred with the anachronisms of the institution. Another cakewalk and we might have been wondering whether the Lions needed to take themselves quite so seriously.

Indeed, not long before kick-off the stadium announcer, who may one day come to learn that less is more, asked the 90,307 inside the MCG “who wants some Test match rugby?” The inference was that we did not really get any last week.

1:53 'It means the world': Maro Itoje on British & Irish Lions series win – video

Instead, we were given a thrilling reminder of how captivating Test rugby can be. It was not necessarily the quality of it that stood out – both sides will reflect on a considerable number of mistakes – but it was thrill-a-minute with last-gasp controversy for good measure.

Unlike last Saturday, when the overriding emotion among the Lions at the final whistle was relief, there was genuine jubilation this time round. Itoje led his players around the bowl of this cavernous area and drank it all in, allowing himself a moment before resetting his sights on the whitewash.

“These are one of those moments in your life that you’ll cherish,” he said. “It will live long in the memory. This has always been the goal. I’m just delighted, this is what dreams are made of.”

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