Steve Borthwick intends to rest Maro Itoje for England's Nations Championship fixtures in July — including the opener against South Africa on 4 July — barring a lock injury crisis in the coming days.
Itoje has had an exceptionally demanding 12 months: captaining the British and Irish Lions to their series win over Australia in 2025, playing through the November internationals and the 2026 Six Nations, while also dealing with the death of his mother. Borthwick noted that Itoje has logged more test minutes than any other player over the past decade.
"Maro's circumstances have been very specific and the right thing to do, in a best-case scenario, would be for him not to be with the England squad this summer," Borthwick said on Wednesday. "Any discussion with a player about missing an opportunity to represent their country is challenging. Maro is fully on board with the plan."
The caveat is the fitness of George Martin and Alex Coles. Martin starts for England in their non-cap match against a France XV in Vannes on Friday, while Coles plays for Northampton in the Premiership final against Exeter on Saturday. Should either pick up an injury, Borthwick would be left with only Itoje and Ollie Chessum as frontline lock options for the South Africa test.
England also face Fiji and Argentina during the July window.