The inspiration behind Maro Itoje’s boots he will wear for England against Ireland that includes a ‘gold-plate outsole’
England captain Maro Itoje will wear a commemorative player-exclusive boot against Ireland.
England captain Maro Itoje will be wearing golden boots against Ireland in the Six Nations this weekend in celebration of his 100th appearance for his country.
The British and Irish Lions tour skipper has designed a custom boot in collaboration with Under Armour which he will be donning at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday.
The MI100 is a commemorative player-exclusive boot modelled on the UA Magnetico 5 and honours the second-row’s journey, heritage and inspirations on his path to the top.
Regal metallic gold
Itoje‘s boot for a vital Six Nations fixture is designed on the Magnetico 5 silhouette, the colour palette of cardinal and vital red strikes a stark contrast with regal metallic gold.
“The inspiration for cardinal traces back to Maro’s first England cap more than 10 years ago, inspired by team tradition in which the debutant has a drink with every member of the team. With Maro’s debut coming against Italy in Rome, his teammates chose red wine, which informed the colour reference for his boot,” read a statement.
“The Roman inspiration continues throughout the boot, with centurion armour signifying Maro’s remarkable feat of reaching a century of appearances. Gold accents punctuate the silhouette and a gold-plate outsole reaffirms the Roman influence over the design.”
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It continued: “Maro’s faith has played a huge part in his journey to 100 caps and is reflected in the boot too, with a religious cross symbol on the U-throat and lace tips.
“As with all Maro’s boots, his MI4 logo is stitched on the medial side of the boot, as well as in the sock liner.
Rewarding process
Itoje was thrilled to link up with Under Armour and says it was a “rewarding process” looking back on his path from starting out to reaching a century of England caps.
“It’s been great to collaborate with Under Armour on this project. They always give me the freedom to express myself and what’s important to me,” said the second-row.
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“Commemorating my 100th cap with this iconic boot has been a meaningful and rewarding process, remembering my journey and everything that has helped me on the way to this moment.”
England come into Saturday’s game sitting in third position on the Six Nations table with Ireland in fifth. Both teams have won one and lost one of their opening games.
