Rugby star: Playing sport helps me give ‘praise and glory’ to God

A rugby union international has spoken out about his Christian faith and shared how he believes playing sport helps him to give “praise and glory” to God.

Maro Itoje, the Saracens and England forward, made the comments in an interview with BBC Radio 5 live earlier this week.

He said: “I feel as if everything I have, everything I’ve been given and the position I am in is as a result of God.”

‘God’s power’

Itoje is preparing to play for his club side Saracens in tomorrow’s final of the European Champions Cup, the top club competition in Europe.

The 22-year-old will also be the youngest member of the British and Irish Lions team on their tour of New Zealand this summer. But despite all of his success on the pitch, he says the glory belongs to God.

“Everything I am doing is not within my power it’s through God’s power. It’s about giving all the praise and glory back to him.”

‘Glory to God’

Earlier this year, a Christian basketball player in the US shared how he too uses his sporting talents to give God glory.

Stephen Curry plays for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA and spoke out about his faith at a charity event he attended for children in need in Africa.

“The Lord has blessed me with these talents to do something special. But it is not about me. That is something that I want my career and my life to be a reflection of His love and His grace and mercy”, he said.

Curry added: “Whether it is winning games, losing games, making shots, missing shots it is all about giving glory to God.”