England reveal new captain as Maro Itoje rested for Nations Championship

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Jamie George will captain England as they start their inaugural Nations Championship campaign with Maro Itoje rested for fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.

Itoje has been given the summer off after a demanding 12 months that included captaining the British and Irish Lions to a series victory in Australia, and dealing with the death of his mother.

George, who captained England in 2024, steps back in as skipper in the absence of his Saracens teammate, with Leicester lock Ollie Chessum also expected to be given greater responsibility within the Steve Borthwick’s leadership team.

It is a demanding schedule for the squad with games against the Springboks in Johannesburg, Fiji in Liverpool and Argentina in Santiago del Estero on back-to-back-to-back weekends in July.

There are five uncapped inclusions in Borthwick’s selection, including teenage wing Noah Caluori and South Africa-born centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg – who will become eligible ahead of the Fiji game.

Exeter No 8 Greg Fisilau and tighthead props George Kloska (Bristol) and Vilikesa Sela (Bath) complete the uncapped contingent. England finished fifth in the Six Nations, winning just one game and suffering a first-ever defeat to Italy.

“We’ve selected a squad with a good blend of experience and emerging talent,” Borthwick said. “The Nations Championship presents an exciting challenge for this group.

Steve Borthwick’s England enter the Nations Championship on a four-match losing run (PA Wire)

“We will face strong opposition in demanding environments, with extensive travel, and changes in climate all testing the squad throughout the tournament.”

Itoje’s absence comes after the return of George Martin from injury and continued strong showings of Alex Coles provided greater depth to Borthwick’s second row stocks.

Chessum started England’s final Six Nations game with France on the blindside and will be in contention to reprise that position in Johannesburg, with Henry Pollock’s role also an item of interest after helping Northampton to a Gallagher Prem title.

The fly half Fin Smith, meanwhile, has revealed that he battled a loss of confidence during the course of this season after touring with the British and Irish Lions last summer.

Smith steered the Saints to another Prem title at Twickenham on Saturday but admitted that he had struggled at times across the campaign, having been a bit-part figure on the Lions tour and lost his England starting spot to George Ford.

The 24-year-old ended the Six Nations as Borthwick’s starting No 10, though, and is looking forward to a big summer that begins with a meeting with the Springboks on 4 July.

Fin Smith (right) has revealed that he lost confidence in his own game during the course of the campaign (Getty)

“It’s been a tough season,” Smith reflected. “I probably just lost a bit of confidence, had to really tap into that mental side of it and really sort of try to get myself up for games at times.

“I was probably feeling like I had to fake it a little bit, but that’s the job of being the sportsman, you have the highs and the lows and really dive deep into that emotional store I’ve had this season. A lot of emotions came out in the changing room.

“It’s not been the easiest season and I’ve probably enjoyed my rugby slightly more than I have this year. But yeah, I won’t dwell on it too much. I’ll be pretty happy looking back on this one now with the trophy and the medal. It’s a really exciting tour, isn’t it? We’ll think about that in a couple of days’ time.”

England squad for Nations Championship

Hooker: Jamie George (capt.), Luke Cowan-Dickie, Theo Dan

Prop: Ellis Genge, Joe Heyes, Beno Obano, Vilikesa Sela, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, George Kloska.

Lock: Ollie Chessum, George Martin, Alex Coles, Arthur Clark, Charlie Ewels.

Back row: Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Henry Pollock, Guy Pepper, Greg Fisilau, Ted Hill.

Scrum half: Alex Mitchell, Jack van Poortvliet, Ben Spencer.

Fly half: Fin Smith, George Ford, Marcus Smith.

Centre: Seb Atkinson, Tommy Freeman, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Henry Slade, Max Ojomoh.

Back three: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Furbank, Noah Caluori, Cadan Murley, Freddie Steward.