Maro Itoje’s head has been in Moussa’s arms for greater than a decade.
From behind the barber’s chair, Moussa has seen Itoje mature from a much-hyped teenager to a three-time 30-year-old British and Irish Lion.
Now captain for the primary time, certainly one of Itoje’s ultimate appointments earlier than departing for Australia is to have his mane trimmed.
“It has been some time,” says Itoje of his and Moussa’s relationship.
“It’ll be a problem on tour.
“You all the time must have some belief – a little bit of a leap of religion – while you stroll into a brand new barber’s chair. Particularly in Australia, the place I do not assume they’re too used to Afro-Caribbean hair!”
Religion, and contingency plans, shall be a theme for Itoje over the subsequent 5 weeks.
When requested about how faith fitted into his ways, former Labour spin guru Alastair Campbell famously stated “we do not do God”.
Itoje, who was launched to Campbell by England group supervisor Richard Hill as a teenager and stays in contact, positively does.
At his unveiling as Lions captain in Might, he revealed he had missed Bible examine to be there.
When he was promoted to England captain in January, his pastor was certainly one of six individuals he informed earlier than the general public announcement., exterior
Requested concerning the lengthy journey to each posts, Itoje has a easy clarification: “God’s timing is all the time one of the best time.”
“Within the final two or three years I’ve made a aware choice to double down in that regard,” he tells BBC Sport.
“I used to be most likely a lukewarm Christian for a big a part of my life. I used to be most likely somebody who went to church, however was not likely dwelling the ideas or values of it that deeply, however I’ve all the time been a believer.
“The humility that I’ve tried to embody all through my life positively comes from figuring out that every part I’ve has been a present, not by my very own doing, however by the man upstairs.”
By Itoje’s excessive requirements and personal admission, that humility wasn’t all the time current on earlier Lions excursions.
He has described his 22-year-old self, who gained over the Lions followers’ sea of crimson in New Zealand in 2017, as “just a little bit brash and a bit naive”.
This time round, on the very centre of the hype and hoopla, he’s decided to maintain his calm and routine.