Itoje agrees Saracens extension

Maro Itoje has agreed a new Saracens contract, The Guardian reports. The England captain has earned 102 international caps, according to his club profile, and has represented Saracens at senior level since January 2013 after developing through their academy.

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The decision has implications beyond club rugby. BBC Sport reported earlier on Wednesday that discussions were taking place over an extension beyond the existing agreement, which expires after the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The BBC noted that the Rugby Football Union does not select overseas-based players, meaning a move to France would interrupt Itoje's England career.

Saracens announced his previous long-term contract on January 31, 2024. At that stage, the club credited him with 175 appearances, five Premiership titles and three European crowns. That announcement also recorded his 2016 European Player of the Year award and three nominations for the world player award, underlining the experience he had already accumulated before that renewal.

His leadership responsibilities have since expanded. Saracens' current biography records that he became England captain in January 2025 and later captained the British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia that year. He started all three Tests as the Lions won the series against the Wallabies, following earlier tours to New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021.

Itoje's route into senior international rugby included leading England's under-20 side to the world title in 2014. He made his full England debut during the 2016 Six Nations, when the team secured a Grand Slam. His club biography lists him primarily as a second-row forward who can also play on the flank, with his career spanning domestic, European and international competition.

The connection between his club and national commitments also includes the RFU's enhanced player-contract programme. In August 2025, Saracens confirmed that Itoje, Ben Earl, Elliot Daly, Jamie George and Tom Willis were among 25 recipients for the 2025-26 season. The club described those contracts as part of the professional-game partnership designed to support England's preparation, alongside players' responsibilities with their Premiership teams.