'Royal links' - Eight Crazy Things You Didn’t Know About Maro Itoje

Oghenemaro Miles "Maro" Itoje was born in Camden, North London to Nigerian parents.

He is the cousin of Bath’s loosehead prop Beno Obano. Gloucester speedster Ollie Thorley is also Itoje’s cousin, after his grandfather re-married a Nigerian woman who is the Saracens lock’s aunt.

The current England star writes poetry in his free time and tried his hand at modelling too. Maro starred alongside Amelia Windsor, cousin of Prince Harry, on a sports luxe-themed Tatler shoot for their October 2018 issue. Rumours in the press followed that the pair had begun dating, but this was never confirmed or denied by the second-row.

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.

Maro Itoje writes poetry in his spare time, but declined when Farrell asked him to write a poem for him.

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.

As a schoolboy, Itoje played several sports including basketball, football, rugby and athletics, representing England at U17 level in shot put.