England hooker Jamie George discovered he would relinquish the captaincy responsibility "less than 24 hours" before the Six Nations squad was announced.

Maro Itoje has taken over from Jamie George as England’s captain ahead of this year’s Six Nations. George, 34, had been serving as Steve Borthwick’s skipper following Owen Farrell’s decision to step away from international rugby in late 2023.

Saracens number eight Tom Willis gets nod from Steve Borthwick but no place for young Northampton flanker Henry Pollock

England head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 36-man squad for the Six Nations, which gets under way in a little over two weeks' time. Borthwick has named Maro Itoje as captain for the tournament. He replaces Jamie George as skipper. England face Ireland in their opening Six Nations clash, which takes place in Dublin on February 1.

Steve Borthwick has backed Maro Itoje to lead England into the 2027 Rugby World Cup and said it is his capability to be calm in the face of pressure which has seen him elevated to captain of the team.

England head coach Steve Borthwick has backed ‘world-class’ Maro Itoje to succeed as England captain, and feels it is also a long-term appointment with one eye on the 2027 World Cup. Itoje was named captain for the upcoming Six Nations yesterday,

England make massive captaincy call as Steve Borthwick’s squad revealed - Maro Itoje has been appointed skipper, supplanting Saracens teammate Jamie George in the role