When Maro Itoje runs out on to the pitch at Japan’s Yokohama stadium on Saturday the hopes of a nation will be resting on his massive shoulders.
England’s 6ft 6ins, 18-stone lock forward had the game of his life against the New Zealand All Blacks in the World Cup semi-final last week.
And Super Maro, who lists poetry among his talents, will be out to inspire his team-mates again as they battle South Africa for the Webb Ellis Cup.
Victory might finally convince Maro’s proud Nigerian parents that rugby is the right career for their son, who went to Harrow School on a sports scholarship.
“My mother still wants me to be a doctor,” said Maro in a recent interview. “One day I might work up the courage to break it to her that the ship has sailed.
“When I started playing rugby, neither of my parents saw it as a career.
“Dad wanted me to be an accountant, or a banker, both my siblings are lawyers.
“I had to make sure my grades didn’t suffer or he might have pulled me from playing. But I’ve been lucky enough to achieve both though.”
“Both” being a degree in politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and a £1million salary from his club, Saracens, making him one of the highest-paid players in the game.
And Maro, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Monday, is set to double his earnings through lucrative endorsements after his performances in Japan.
Oghenemaro Miles Itoje, who has also represented the British and Irish Lions, grew up in Edgware, North London with parents Efe and Florence, older brother Jeremy and younger sister Isabel.
His dad has a masters in maths, his mum works in property, and the couple were big on the value of education.
Maro says he had “zero interest in sport” until he was nine, when his headmaster suggested he play rugby because he was a foot taller than the next biggest boy in his class.
He joined Harpenden Rugby Club aged 12 before landing his Harrow place.
There he became fascinated with politics (he’s an ardent Remainer), singing in the choir and writing poetry.
Maro describes himself as a “liberal feminist” and, in his spare time, enjoys period dramas such as Downton Abbey.
His Twitter feed covers everything from politics in Ghana, to racism in sport and feminism in football.
And while being a rugby winner is “the most important thing” he also aims to be a champion for social justice.
He says: “When you see things that aren’t right you have to speak up about it. People shouldn’t be silenced just because they’re an athlete.”
As a teenager travelling to an away game in Newcastle, Maro, penned a poem called “There Comes a Time.”
It begins: “There comes a time, when a boy must become a man.
“When fear must turn to bravery, when thoughts must turn to belief, when this belief must turn to action.”
With Maro as their talisman, England fans truly believe their time has come.
