'It's a key part of who I am': All Access Special Ep3 with Maro Itoje

In the latest RugbyPass All Access Special, Jim Hamilton is joined by Vitality ambassador Maro Itoje, his former Saracens teammate and British and Irish Lions tourist. In the final episode of the series, Maro: Beyond Rugby, we take a look at Itoje's life outside of rugby, including his interest in fashion, his appreciation of African art and his Nigerian roots which he said is "a key part of who I am... how I see the world."

The 26-year-old also discussed the inspirational figures in his life from within and outside of rugby, including South Africa's first black captain Siya Kolisi, who triumphed over Itoje and England in the 2019 World Cup final.

"Siya's great," said the Saracens lock. "Siya's obviously made history with his role at the Springboks. I have spoken to him and spent a little bit of time with him. He is an incredibly nice, warm, welcoming human being and his success speaks for itself."

The series finished with a look to the immediate future, with the Lions poised to depart for South Africa after their opening fixture with Japan at Murrayfield this Saturday. Itoje will play a pivotal role in the series, just as he did four years ago in New Zealand, and he made clear his enthusiasm over what is in store over the coming weeks.

"I'm incredibly excited and it's not too different from the last tour. We were going down to New Zealand and they were the world champions at that point in time as well. These are the type of challenges, these are the type of tours, these are the type of opportunities as a player you want to be a part of. On an individual level, incredibly excited and pumped to go down. I'm very happy that the tour is going ahead and I will do whatever my role is to ensure that we have a successful tour."