England captain Maro Itoje has urged Six Nations bosses to keep the tournament on free-to-air amid mounting speculation it will be moved behind a paywall.

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Six Nations should remain on free-to-air TV, says England captain Maro Itoje - Itoje says ‘rugby needs more eyes on it, not less’.

It is an irony of rugby union that the captain of a team, tasked with engaging officials in delicate conversations that can shape any given game, is often one of the players pushing their luck the most.

Maro Itoje starts his reign as England captain on Saturday pleading with Six Nations chiefs to keep the tournament on free-to-air TV and not hide it behind a paywall. Itoje, who leads his side for the first time against Ireland in Dublin has waded in on the debate warning rugby should be pulling out all the stops to attract mass coverage.

It’s a little bit of a bore, and even a tad insulting to the grand old Championship, that every second edition of the Guinness Six Nations is viewed in the prism of either an upcoming World Cup or a British & Irish Lions tour. But, heck, let’s go for it already.

After several, painful, near-misses, England are ready to get the job done against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, according to their new captain Maro Itoje.