Maro Itoje felt he had missed out on Lions squad

England international Maro Itoje felt that he had originally missed out on the selection of British and Irish Lions squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand following the cheers from his Saracens team-mate on Jamie George's inclusion.

The double champions were glued in front of TV at their St Albans training base during the squad announcement in which six out of the overall 41 members were from Mark McCall's team.

After George's name was read out over England skipper Dylan Hartley, there was a huge roar in the Saracens camp and Itoje feared that he had actually missed out on selection.

"What happened was... obviously I and G are near to each other in the alphabet," Itoje said.

"When we heard Jamie's name read out, everyone was screaming, so we missed the player who was next which was Iain Henderson. I didn't hear that and I was thinking, 'Guys, shut up, I don't want to miss it'.

"If I'm in, I need to know - I don't want to be worried and have to check it back. In my head I was like, 'Guys, be quiet'.

"There was a second when I thought I had missed out. I missed the next name as well with the cheering that came after mine."

The 22-year-old's debut for England came in February 2016 and has already played 12 Tests with starts in 11 out of it. He also captained England during their triumph in 2014 IRB Junior World Championship and was also named the European player of the Year in 2016.

"To be picked was unbelievable - I was extremely honoured," he said.

"To have the opportunity to be part of the tour is incredible and something you aspire to do as a child - now I have the opportunity to do so, I feel really privileged."