HOW MARLER’S TOUR PULL-OUT PAID OFF
IT IS less than a year since Joe Marler felt so crushed by the pressure of being in rugby’s spotlight he no longer cared who wore England’s No 1 jersey. Haunted by disciplinary issues, including a two-week ban and £20,000 fine for calling Wales prop Samson Lee a ‘gipsy boy’, Marler stepped down from England’s summer tour of Australia to try to get his head straight. He began this season unsure if the red mist would descend again in the heat of battle — and so far it hasn’t. Marler, 26, has started England’s opening RBS 6 Nations games against France and Wales and has not looked back. He said: ‘The season has been good. To be welcomed back into the squad in the autumn has been great and I have got hold of it and want to keep improving. There are guys who are moving ahead and unless you want to keep striving to improve yourself you will be left behind.’ Marler is relishing his return to top mental and physical health after taking the gamble of standing down from last summer’s tour. He said: ‘I had to make that judgment knowing I might not get back in the squad.’ Marler could keep his starting place for Sunday’s clash with Italy at Twickenham despite the return to the squad of Saracens prop Mako Vunipola. Scrum coach Neal Hatley has hinted strongly that Marler’s displays warrant another start. ‘Joe has been absolutely outstanding,’ Hatley said. ‘He has scrummaged unbelievably well and defensively he’s been red hot.’ Wing Anthony Watson is also in contention after taking a full part in training yesterday.