Itoje has explained why Owen Farrell is the right man to captain England

Owen Farrell will thrive as England captain, according to Saracens team-mate Maro Itoje.

Farrell will lead England’s tour of South Africa this month with regular skipper Dylan Hartley ruled out due to concussion.

The Saracens fly-half first captained Eddie Jones’ side during the Six Nations against France, and Itoje believes the “smart” 26-year-old raises his level when given the added responsibility.

“I think Owen plays better when he’s captain. He normally speaks well, but I think he speaks better as captain,” Itoje explained.

“He has a holistic approach to the game. I haven’t met many, if any, smarter rugby players than him. I know for a fact, having played under him before, that he is going to do very well in the role.”

“We’ve got an incredible challenge before us." ?@maroitoje looks ahead to facing @Springboks this month ? https://t.co/3ZNwPI4fo3 pic.twitter.com/HRXcsEwDNW

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 3, 2018

Farrell is renowned for the stern glares directed at team-mates after errors on the pitch, with Itoje believing these show his suitability for captaincy.

“We all get that, but that’s what it’s about,” he said. “We have to hold each other to account.

“Owen pushes the standards, which is probably why Eddie has put him in that role.”

Itoje says things have gone up a gear in camp.

“You can tell by the way the coaches are speaking, you can tell by the way my team mates are speaking, by the way they’re training and the application is all looking good.”

“The truth of the matter is we know we’re a good team, we know we have very good coaches and I believe if we play our style of rugby to the best of our ability on our day, most teams will struggle against us.

“That’s the mindset and mentality that we’re going to go out there with, we want to take this tour by the scruff of the neck and leave our imprint.”

Head coach Jones is not expecting Farrell to immediately become one of the game’s great leaders, but sees traits in the playmaker possessed by his former Australia captain Gregan and is backing him to instill his own style in the team.

“Owen is a completely different character to Dylan,” Jones said. “He has a different cultural background. Dylan is from Rotorua, Owen is from Wigan.

“Gregan was fantastic. I have never seen a stronger winner than him. He demanded stuff from the team and they were frightened not to give it to him. He was super on the field but not as good off it.

“They think about things differently, they look at things differently. Owen will put his own stamp on the team. And we want him to do that.

“We need to find people who can work off the field to help Owen.

“You don’t expect a captain immediately to be this all-conquering figure. It takes time, it takes effort and it takes patience.

“Owen has got the job for South Africa so he has five weeks to work through, find his own style, influence the team and we will see how he goes.”

Jones recently admitted to worries over the unity in an England squad that finished fifth in the Six Nations.

Asked how he plans to alter that perception, Jones replied: “Having strong leadership definitely helps – having a leader who can unite groups.

“Because within our team you’ve got different groups and it’s how you unite all those guys to play for one single purpose.

“You go to the north of England and the south of England and for me it is like going to two different countries. Then you go to the south-west and that is a different country again and they have got different ideas of what is right and what is wrong and none of them is right.”