England’s forward, Joe Marler, has declared his retirement from international rugby.
The announcement was made by Marler on social media on Sunday morning, following England’s heart-wrenching 24-22 loss to New Zealand at Twickenham the previous day. The 34 year old had been in the spotlight leading up to the match due to his call for a ban on the Haka.
Despite later retracting this viewpoint, the controversy led to a tense few days before the game. The Harlequins prop has now decided to end his 95-cap career with a heartfelt post on Instagram.
His message read: “Playing for England always felt like I was living in a dream bubble. I kept waiting for it to pop and me to suddenly go back to being a gobby, overweight 16-year-old again. But you know when it’s time. I can’t do what I used to do as well as I once could.
“I can’t keep talking about my family being my priority unless they actually are. I want to keep untarnished all these memories of my career, both good and bad. I don’t want to leave my house with my kids crying. I’m ready to make the change.
“The first team-mate I told was Dan Cole. We were sharing a room at the England hotel. I hugged him, he hugged me. The conversation went a bit like this: I love you, mate. I love you too. What’s up? I’m done, mate. I know you are.
“It’s the friendship and respect of team-mates like Dan that I’ll cherish the most. The fun we had reaching the Rugby World Cup final in Japan in 2019. Coming off together in the semi-final against South Africa in 2023, sitting down on the bench, patting each other on the leg and saying, we did alright there, old son.
“Rugby has taken me places I could never have imagined. We have a big map of the world up on the wall in our kitchen. We put pins in where we’ve been. The kids have pins in four or five holiday places, Daisy the same. They can’t believe how many I’ve stuck in. Dad, have you really been there? What’s Uruguay? When you come from a little town in East Sussex, that’s not normal. It’s a wonderful thing.
“When I first got picked to play for England, 14 years ago, I was terrified. I wasn’t good enough. I had bleached hair with red bits in it. I couldn’t even drive myself to Pennyhill Park. I had to ask a mate to drop me off. When he did, he asked me if I could nick him some stash as a souvenir. I met Martin Johnson before training, and he towered over me and told me to get a haircut.
“So I’m incredibly grateful I got to play 95 times for my country. I have to pinch myself. Did I really do that? I’m grateful to all those people who showed patience as I kept messing up.
“I’m grateful to the fans who made each match special. I’m grateful to the team-mates who pushed alongside or behind me, and the ones who could do all the things with a ball that I can’t. But most of all I’m grateful to Daisy, Jasper, Maggie, Felix and Pixie for the unwavering support.
“I’m sad to say goodbye to international rugby. But I’m really proud, too. Time to exit one dream bubble; time to enter a new one. Big Love x”.
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