Marler admits seeking bans to avoid England duty
LONDON, Oct 2, (RTRS): Retired England rugby union prop Joe Marler has said he tried to get banned from national team assignments by deliberately picking up yellow and red cards during matches.
Marler, who won 59 caps for his country, announced his retirement from international rugby at the age of 28 last week to spend more time with his family.
“The anxiety I’d get about having to leave and go away again would start to manifest itself in giving away even more dull penalties and looking for outs, looking for a yellow card, looking for a red card,” Marler told The Rugby Pod.
“Because if I could pick up a ban, that’s an easy way out without actually pulling the trigger.”
Marler helped England to win Six Nations titles in 2016 and 2017 but missed the start of this year’s competition after picking up a six-week ban.
England suffered three losses in the tournament as the defending champions finished a dismal fifth.
Marler said he decided to retire from internationals after courting a suspension while playing for club side Harlequins against Bristol.
“After that game, I said ‘I can’t keep doing this. It’s not fair on my family. It’s not fair on the club’,” Marler added.
“It (retirement) hasn’t felt like a big decision because I’ve been thinking about it for some time. I really enjoyed my time with England but as soon as I had kids, it completely flipped my perspective.”
Test win against them was in May 2002 in Kingston, while they have not won in India since a 243-run triumph in 1994.
Despite the task facing his side, West Indies captain Jason Holder was upbeat.
“It’s been good. Our last two-Test series were very good,” Holder told reporters on the team’s arrival in India.
“I don’t want to dwell too much in the past ... we have a big series ahead of us, a big winter to be precise. So the focus is on that and to play good cricket.”
The Caribbean side also suffered a jolt in the buildup to the tour when Australian Stuart Law announced he would be stepping down as head coach following the tours of India and Bangladesh to take up a role at Middlesex in England. England cricketer Ben Stokes arrives in Colombo on Oct 1. The England cricket team will be touring Sri Lanka from Oct 1 to Nov 27. The two teams will engage in a duel of 3 Test matches, 5 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and one T20I. (AFP)
“Over the years, the match has provided an opportunity for some of Australia’s best emerging players to test their skills against a quality international side, and I’m sure this year will be no different,” he said. The PM’s XI clash at
on October 31 will be South Africa’s first match in Australia since this year’s infamous ball-tampering scandal in that sent shock waves through Australian cricket.
Australian captain and his deputy received one-year suspensions for their role in the incident, when sandpaper was used to alter the condition of the ball. South Africa skipper
was also found guilty of balltampering during the Test tour of Australia in 2016.