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Meet Oghenemaro Miles Itoje, also known as Maro Itoje, the captain of England’s rugby team and one of the country’s top players. The Nigerian-British star recently led England to a 16-15 victory over Scotland in the Calcutta Cup at Twickenham on February 22, 2025, as part of the Six Nations tournament. It was a long-awaited win, England’s first Calcutta Cup victory since 2020 and their first home win over Scotland since 2017.
At 30, Maro has spent over a decade at the top level of rugby, becoming one of England’s top players. His performances have earned him three nominations for World Rugby Player of the Year. Since making his professional debut in 2013, he has won five English Premiership titles, three European Rugby Champions Cup titles, and three Six Nations Championships. In August 2024, he was named Saracens’ club captain following Owen Farrell’s departure.
He made history in 2016 when he earned his first senior England cap during the Six Nations, becoming the youngest lock to start for England in the tournament at the time. That same year, he played a crucial role in England’s Grand Slam-winning campaign.
Born in Camden and raised in North London, Itoje grew up in a Nigerian-British household with his parents and two siblings, Jeremy and Isobel. He attended Salcombe Preparatory School in Southgate before boarding at St George’s School in Harpenden, where he was first introduced to rugby at 11. A natural athlete, he also excelled in basketball, football, and athletics, even representing England at the U17 level in shot put. He later studied politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in Bloomsbury, London, and in 2023, he earned an MBA from Warwick Business School.
Beyond rugby, Maro is a vocal advocate for social issues, particularly on racism, equality, and education. He has continuously pushed for better learning opportunities in the UK. In 2023, he launched The Pearl Fund, an initiative aimed at investing in education across Africa. He was named in the 2023 Powerlist for the most influential Black people in the UK and won the Leadership Award at the Best of Africa Awards in 2022. He was also featured in Tatler’s Little Black Book that same year. In addition, he co-founded the Akoje Gallery along side Khalil Akar, a platform dedicated to showcasing African and Caribbean artists.
Maro is engaged to model Mimi Fall. He proposed during a holiday to Nigeria and Ghana, and the couple announced their engagement in August last year. Mimi shared the news with a photo of them on a boat, captioned, “Mrs I to be,” along with a close-up of her engagement ring.
See moments from England’s victory below.
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