Fans Rinse Maro Itoje After Heated Skelton Clash Goes Viral

Saturday, 26 July 2025 at 11:34

byRugby Rucker

Things boiled over in brutal fashion during the Lions' latest clash as Maro Itoje and Aussie enforcer Will Skelton locked horns in an explosive bust-up — but it's what Itoje
said after that has lit up social media.

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In the middle of the melee, cameras caught the Lions captain seemingly saying to the referee: “He started it, Sir!” — and fans have been ruthless in their reaction.

Many took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out the England star, branding the schoolyard-style protest as “embarrassing.”

“Itoje. ‘He started it, Sir!’ Back at school!! ?,” one fan wrote.

Another added: “The whole ‘he started it, Sir’ type bullshit from Itoje is so embarrassing. It’s not school, mate.”

Ben Coles

@bencoles_

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Rate this wind-up work from Skelton very highly.

Watch on X

10:22 AM · Jul 26, 2025

Read 11 replies

“He started it Sir” — embarrassing from Itoje,” echoed a third.

A fourth simply posted: “Itoje ‘He started it Sir’ ???”

It’s not the first time Itoje’s on-field chat has come under fire — but this one has fans asking if the Lions skipper should let his rugby do the talking.

"3/10!" – Four Lions Stars Who Flopped in Second Test (And Who Should Take Their Place)

It’s the first time since 1997 that the Lions have wrapped up a series in the opening two Tests—but not everyone covered themselves in glory. Here are four players who flopped in Melbourne and should make way for the final Test.

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#1. JAMES LOWE

Despite a classy offload for Beirne's try and some composed moments, Lowe was error-prone under the high ball and defensively vulnerable once again. A mixed bag leaning heavily toward underperformance.

BALLS 5/10: "One good flicked offload to Gibson-Park. Spilled a high ball, early in the second half. Composed take and footwork, on 57 minutes. Great step and offload for Beirne's try. His best, and last, contribution of the game."

Telegraph 3/10: "Lovely offload to put Beirne over but was another disappointing display. A liability once again in defence and several handling errors."

RUCK 4/10: "Lowe has looked off the tempo in both tests and today was another story of that. He never got going and was exposed hugely in defence. In attack he was nothing to fear for the Wallabies apart from his assist for Beirne."

Replacement: Duhan van der Merwe

#2. BUNDEE AKI

Grew into the game and made a crucial carry in the lead-up to Beirne’s try, but defensive lapses and an avoidable penalty undermined his overall contribution.

Express 5/10: "Not the huge carrier he is with Ireland, ineffective apart from one second half charge"

Telegraph 5/10: "Grew into the game and his carry set the platform for Beirne’s try. Suaalii slipped past him for Wright’s try and gave up a really dumb penalty."

Replacement: Sione Tuipulotu

#3. OLLIE CHESSUM

Busy but largely ineffective, Chessum struggled with the physicality of Australia’s second row and couldn’t spark the partnership with Itoje. Lions missed McCarthy’s bite.

RUCK 5/10: "Chessum was mainly a passenger and struggled heavily against Skelton and Frost in both physicality and tempo of the game. The Itoje and Chessum partnership just didn’t seem to click the way the Lions would’ve hoped."

BALLS 5/10: "Was kept busy, mainly in defence, in the first half. Solid lineout option. Made 13 tackles but missed four."

Telegraph 5/10: "Was busy without being particularly eye-catching. Felt that the Lions missed McCarthy’s physical strength in the exchanges with Skelton."

Replacement: Joe McCarthy (If fit)

#4. ANDREW PORTER

Anchored a dominant scrum and worked hard in defence, but key missed tackles leading to tries exposed costly defensive frailties.

RUCK 5/10: "The Lion’s scrum was mighty, and more often than not, Porter was the first to show that to referee Andrea Piardi, he looked okay in attack but looked better defensively, but was caught short for Gordon’s darting try."

Telegraph 5/10: "Targeted by Australia in defence with both Gordon and Suaalii slipping through his grasp for tries. Still made 16 tackles, but misses were big black marks."

Replacement: Ellis Gegne