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 doesn’t understand the game Itoje plays, but he knew how he would have felt on Saturday night. “I’m very grateful and it’s obviously a tremendous honour to be in such esteemed company,” says Itoje when asked about the select band of captains he’s now joined.
“When I’m 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 don’t want to be a Lion. It’s 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 don’t have many shots at it. The next tour is never guaranteed. There’s a rarity to it. If you miss one, you may never have another opportunity.
“It’s been said before but in many ways, it shouldn’t 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. That’s what makes it special.”
