Maro Itoje's potential move to join up with Racing 92 next season has been blocked by Premiership club owners.
The England head coach, Eddie Jones, and other senior Twickenham officials had hoped Itoje’s proposed switch would be approved and help ensure one of England’s key players would be suitably primed for international duty.
However, following a recent meeting of the professional game board, the proposed move was rejected as it does not adhere to the “exceptional circumstances” rule which allows players playing overseas to represent England at a time of injury crisis in a specialist position.
“Maro asked to go and play for Racing 92 on a one-year loan and the RFU and Eddie Jones were amenable to that, believing these were exceptional circumstances,” said a well-placed source of the Irish Times.
“It required approval from the representatives from Premiership rugby, who make up the professional game board with the RFU, and they have not given it.”
Maro Itoje: 10 things you didn’t know about the England star
Being one of the most popular players on the globe is likely to generate an incredible fan-base, but we are fairly confident that there are some aspects of Maro Itoje’s life and career you are not familiar with.
1. His Name
His full name is much more of a mouthful. The lock was born Oghenemaro Miles Itoje in Camden, London on 28 October 1994 to Nigerian parents.
2. Other Sports
As a schoolboy, Itoje played several sports including basketball, football, rugby and athletics, representing England at U17 level in shot put.
3. Studies
Maro got a rugby scholarship to London Harrow school when he was 11. He then studied for a Politics degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies in Bloomsbury, London at the same time as starting his rugby career.
4. Dream Dinner Guests
His guests would include a footballer! He told JOE: "I would pick Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Jay-Jay Okocha. He's in there, my Nigerian brother!"
5. Nickname
The Saracens second-row is nicknamed 'the pearl'. He was given the name by one of his teammates at the Christmas social after he wore a cream turtleneck and the name has stuck.
6. Mentor
"Richard Hill MBE – he is a former rugby union footballer who played flanker for Saracens and England and is the England team manager – he's inspirational."
7. What TV does he like?
Itoje loves watching period dramas" Downton Abbey, Mr Selfridge, The Crown – he loves them all.
8. Family
He is the cousin of Bath's loosehead prop Beno Obano.
9. Lions
The youngest British & Irish Lion in the 2017 touring party, Maro Itoje defied his age to appear in all three Test matches of an historic drawn series against the All Blacks.
10. Feminist
He describes himself as a “liberal feminist” and tweeted his disapproval of the Daily Mail’s “Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!” front page (“Sexism of the highest order”).
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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