Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: England's Maro Itoje 'won't sing this song again'

Itoje has played in 62 Tests for England and the British & Irish Lions

England's Maro Itoje says he will no longer sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot because of its origins in slavery.

The Rugby Football Union reviewed the song's use in 2020, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, but chose not to ban it.

"I'm not going to tell people what they should or shouldn't do but, personally, I won't sing this song again," Saracens lock Itoje, 27, told L'Equipe.

"I sang it before when I was naive and didn't know its origins but, now knowing the context in the creation of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, it's not an anthem that I'm going to repeat any more."

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is thought to have been composed by a slave called Wallace Wallis with his wife Minerva in the mid-1800s.

London-born Itoje, who is of Nigerian heritage, previously said the song made him feel "uncomfortable", adding its background is "complicated".

Although the RFU chose not to ban the song, it said it will "proactively" educate fans on the "history and provenance".

English rugby's governing body produced a video explaining the song's historical context and withdrew its use from marketing and merchandising.

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