World Cup winner praises ‘camaraderie’ following Maro Itoje’s loss as Ireland legend highlights progress from ‘rugby playing machines’
World Cup winner praises 'camaraderie' following Maro Itoje's loss as Ireland legend highlights progress from 'rugby playing machines'
Matt Dawson and Shane Horgan have praised the response from those in the game following the sad news of Florence Itoje’s passing.
The mother of England and British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje sadly died in December 2025.
Itoje is set to return for England against Wales in the opening match of the 2026 Six Nations, but will make his entrance from the bench after missing the start of the England camp to attend his mother’s funeral.
Discussing Steve Borthwick’s decision to take the pressure off the 31-year-old, Dawson praised those around Itoje for the support he’s being given at such a difficult time.
“The focus on teamship, camaraderie away from the sport is a mile away from where it was five, ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, for sure,” said the 2003 World Cup winner on the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly.
“They’re just as human as you or I, and they go through the pain and through the joy of life; it’s just so much more understood what is important to those players.
“As an example, Ben Cohen’s father passed away when he was on England camp in the early 2000s, and nothing was really said of it, and it was dealt with only by a couple on reflection.
“And actually, Ben needed support from everybody rather than just a couple, so as terrible as the circumstances are, I think it shows how far all sport has come, not just professionals.”
“We’re dealing with human beings, not just rugby-playing machines”
Former Ireland wing Shane Horgan highlighted the importance of humanising those at the elite level.
“I think it is a product of slightly later stage professionalism and understanding the humanity, that we’re dealing with human beings, not just rugby playing machines.
“You put in the right type of food, you keep them training, you work them as hard as you can, you put them out on the pitch, and they deliver. We’ve figured out that players are more than that.
“This is about being human to a person who’s gone through a tragedy, but more broadly, understanding that for ultimate peak performance, there is the mental side of things, and being happy and being comfortable in your environment and being in an environment with trusted colleagues generates a platform for even better performance.”
Many of us take this for granted in today’s age, but it wasn’t always the case.
“That wasn’t always there, like ‘you get paid, you do what we tell you do, therefore you will play when we tell you to play and you’ll perform well.’”
“There are very few sports like rugby when it comes to what you need out of your teammates,” noted Dawson.
“In that 80 minutes, particularly, you’re going through some fairly torturous physical and mental states of mind.”
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Maro Itoje statement
Following his mother’s death, the Saracens lock paid tribute to his mother on social media. “She was my confidant, gist partner, friend, advisor, teacher and my comfort. There is no part of my life where she has not positively impacted!
“I thank God for her life and to be lucky enough to be called her son.
“She was the glue and heartbeat of our family and she leaves a hole that will never be filled.
“I take comfort through my faith and belief that she is in Heaven looking down on us and guiding us from up there.”
