Warrior Itoje joins pantheon of Lions captains as McBride pays tribute

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We want to be part of something very special - Itoje

They were speaking hours apart and from different ends of the world but a few things united Maro Itoje in Sydney, New South Wales and Willie John McBride in Ballyclare, Antrim - both were/are locks and, as of last Saturday, both know how it feels to captain the Lions to a series win.

McBride, 85 years young and leader of the immortals of 1974 in South Africa, is the oldest surviving victorious Lions captain.

That merry band numbered just four before the weekend - Finlay Calder (1989 in Australia), Martin Johnson (1997 in South Africa) and Sam Warburton (2013 in Australia) being the others. Now there are five.

"What message would I send to Maro?" says McBride. "Id say well done, son. Well done. Its never easy to win a series in the southern hemisphere and theyve achieved it.

"I watched it at home on Saturday morning. I couldnt be doing with listening to all the rubbish down the club, all the experts giving their opinions.

"The game was tremendous. The best Ive seen in a very long time. Theres lots about modern rugby that I dont understand. I dont understand line-outs any more. I havent a clue why they bother having scrums because nobody knows whats going on.

"We had 32 players, a coach and a manager when I was captain. They have more than 32 people in the backroom staff now. We had 22 matches. Everything is different, but Id imagine something that hasnt changed much is the feeling of having won.

"Its the biggest honour you can have in rugby - winning a series with the Lions."

Generations divide them but in their own way they are deeply fascinating men with stories that transcend rugby. McBride played through The Troubles, an Ulster protestant and an Irish captain who used rugby to try to build bridges between two warring communities while others were trying to blow them up.

The admiration for Itoje comes in a different form - in his work in giving severely disadvantaged kids from Nigeria, the land of his parents birth, a proper education. Through his Pearl Fund, he is making a difference in the lives of orphaned, fatherless and poverty-stricken young people.

McBride doesnt understand the game Itoje plays, but he knew how he would have felt on Saturday night. "Im very grateful and its obviously a tremendous honour to be in such esteemed company," says Itoje when asked about the select band of captains hes now joined.

"When Im old and grey these occasions and these tours are going to be the experiences I look back on with extreme fondness.

"I would be surprised if you can find a British and Irish rugby player who says they dont want to be a Lion. Its something that each player holds dear to their heart. This is something the players want and the players will continue to want for decades and for as long as rugby is being played.

"You dont have many shots at it. The next tour is never guaranteed. Theres a rarity to it. If you miss one, you may never have another opportunity.

"Its been said before but in many ways, it shouldnt really work. You have four different nations, four different ideologies, several different ways of how to play the game and how to think.

"It is not a homogenous group at all, but people buy in and you forge great relationships and you build bonds. Thats what makes it special."

Itoje is a thoughtful and well-mannered individual off the pitch, but a warrior on it

Itoje is one of the greats now. He has played in eight straight Lions Tests (seven as a starter) and that will become nine on Saturday when the Lions face the Wallabies in the last dance in Sydney.

His captaincy is low-key, almost gentle. When he wants some fire and brimstone in the dressing room he tends to call on others to deliver it. He once described himself as "deeply thoughtful, prone to overthinking, actually" - but thats part of what makes him interesting.

Hes a rugby player but also a Christian, a collector of African art - "it speaks to my soul" - a philanthropist, a strong voice on anti-racism - "it has happened so often in my life" - and a lover of politics. When asked what was the coolest message hes received since wrapping up the series last weekend, he says it was from foreign secretary David Lammy.

Itoje is also in the pantheon - a lock who wreaks havoc with his power, his nous and his strategic brilliance. His durability is astounding. Hes played every minute of every Six Nations game going back six years.

In 37 of his past 38 games for England and the Lions hes gone the distance. Softly spoken, hes as hard as they come. A player who came to rugby late and to captaincy later still, but whos left his mark on the game and with years on his side - hes only 30 - to make that mark even bigger.

What will he remember of this trip - the rugby or the people? "Its hard to differentiate it. Ultimately, its going to be the people but the rugby makes it sweeter," says Itoje.

"There is a verse that I cant quite remember what book it is from in the Bible [Mark 8:36], but it says What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul? If we won every game and we absolutely hated one another - I think life is more than that."

The 1974 Lions won their first 21 matches and drew their final game in a tour of South Africa that lasted more than three months

There is one more step to take and thats turning 2-0 into 3-0, which would be the first time the Lions won three Tests in a row on tour since McBrides Lions of 1974.

"We want to be part of something very special," said Itoje. "Winning a Lions Test series is obviously extremely special, but what would be an absolute dream would be to go out there and perform to the level that we think we can perform and win the third game.

"While the first two games have been great because we got two wins, theres still a feeling that we havent put it together in a way we know that we can. Thats the exciting thing for us - we want to chase down the performance weve been searching for."

That would make it an unbeaten tour in Australia, again a first since 1974. You put this potential slice of history to McBride and he cant help but pull you up. "Unbeaten? They were beaten in Dublin [against the Pumas], werent they? That was part of the tour, wasnt it?"

More than half a century on and the great man is still protective of his boys and their place in Lions history. Once a warrior, always a warrior. Itoje has now joined that class.

"I think we owe it to ourselves," Itoje said about the need the finish the series 3-0.

"The squad has worked incredibly hard for coming up to the last two months. We owe it to ourselves to give the best account of ourselves. We owe it to each other to give the best account of ourselves. Part of that is going for the win. This will already be a memorable tour, but we want it to live really long in the memory."