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Joe Marler sparked controversy ahead of the England-New Zealand match this Saturday after calling on the All Blacks to get rid of the haka.
Marler added that the pre-match tradition is “ridiculous”, with the prop’s comments set to increase tensions at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham during England’s first match of the Autumn Nations Series after a hard-fought series this summer.
“The Haka needs to be put away. It’s ridiculous,” said Marler, who is not part of Steve Borthwick’s team this weekend. “It’s no use when teams face him with some sort of response. Like the boys in the league did so last week.
Marler deactivated his X account overnight but has since returned to social media to try to ease tensions.
“Context is everything. Just having a bit of fun trying to drum up interest in a mega rugby match. Wild responses,” Marler said, before adding a peach emoji at the end of his post.
Marler broke his foot in the first test against the All Blacks this summer, but came off the bench against Saracens earlier this month and was present at England’s training camp in Girona earlier this month. He left the team on Monday for personal reasons.
Ellis Genge will start at free prop with Marler’s Harlequins teammate Fin Baxter on the bench.
Marler has previously opposed the haka, including when he crossed the halfway line before the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Referee Nigel Owens ordered Marler to return to World Rugby, then fined England £2,000 for a rules breach “related to cultural challenges”.
The 34-year-old would later explain that he did not know how England were supposed to line up in response to the All Blacks and their unconventional ‘V’ formation.
“The problem was that Ben [Youngs] did it the night before… he got up and he did it on a flip chart and he wrote it all down with Xs and Os,” Marler said on the Jonathan Ross show.
“The problem I had with that was I looked at that chart and thought, ‘That’s not to scale’…I thought we were supposed to be closer than what the picture said.
“[I went over the line] which I thought we were all going to do, but then I looked back and they weren’t doing it, but I figured I was already committed by now.
The Rugby Football Union declined to comment on Marler’s social media post.
