I CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT FOR THIS!
No fear for reborn Marler as he tackles the game of his life
NO FEAR. That is the outlook for Joe Marler and England this week as they embrace the tension of knockout rugby. They won’t be driven by fear, or overwhelmed by it.
The stakes are raised now that the World Cup has reached the quarter-final stage, with Eddie Jones’s squad preparing to face Australia on Saturday.
Having come out of Test retirement at the end of last season, Harlequins prop Marler is gearing up for the game of his life — adamant he and his team-mates won’t be inhibited by the threat of an abrupt end.
It is all on the line now. Win or bust. That suits England’s veteran loosehead just fine. ‘I don’t know what pressure is,’ Marler said yesterday. ‘I don’t think it’s pressure. The group have now got a mindset of, “Bring it on — bring on the challenges”. We embrace it and we look forward to it, as opposed to shying away from it.
‘I have been involved in teams who have let nerves overcome them and caved in and allowed the nerves to become negative. I don’t feel that in this group.
‘The boys embrace that nervousness and use it as positive energy to drive us on.’
England and the other seven teams left standing will play out the remainder of the tournament on the precipice, knowing the equation: one slip and they’re gone. Some will stare into the abyss to find the motivation they need to avoid it. Others will avert their gaze.
‘Each individual is different,’ said Marler when asked about the psychology of the situation. ‘Jonny Wilkinson used to speak about the thing that drove him most was the fear of failure — the fear of losing — and that worked brilliantly for him. He was one of the best players to play the game.
‘Jamie George, for example, is Mr Positive and Mr Energy all the time. He doesn’t focus on any negative thoughts because that brings him down. He constantly thinks about enjoying the moment. Next job.
‘Everyone is different, but as a collective we focus less on the fear factor, more on the opportunity and the challenge.’
For his part, Marler claimed to be in the ‘what will be, will be’ category. He will give body and soul to the cause while trying not to lose sleep about what could go wrong. Having denied that memories of the 2015 World Cup loss to Australia and subsequent exit at the pool stage will light the fires within, he was asked what does drive him now.
‘I want to be part of a squad who win the World Cup,’ he said.
In September 2018, he opted to stand down from national service, but reversed that decision to play in this World Cup.
‘That was part of the reason I came out of retirement. I could see the potential in this group and I wanted a taste of that. That’s ultimately what’s driving me on for the next couple of weeks.
‘ It hasn’t been easy. I have worked my buns off to try to get back into an emotional and mental state capable of contributing to the squad the best I can.
‘And the physical state too — that has been even harder. You come out of it for a year and you forget how fast they do everything!’ There is never a shortage of wit from Marler and he was in his element yesterday, addressing the Anglo-Australian media at the team’s base here, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
With mountains in the background, he was asked what the ultimate peak would be like, whether winning the World Cup would be life changing.
‘Yes, it would be life changing,’ Marler said.
‘I’m sure a lot of the 2003 boys will then be looking over their shoulders thinking, “Oh God, we’re going to struggle for afterdinner gigs now”!
‘Would it be life changing? Of course it would be. It would be an achievement, but I haven’t really thought about that much.’
What he has thought about is the Wallabies pack, which is a far
more dangerous proposition than it used to be, in the days when Australia’s scrum was a liability.
‘ Traditionally, in a different generation, there were always question marks over Australia being weak up front and being wet at scrum time,’ said Marler. ‘But in 2015, when Mario Ledesma was there, he transformed them and made a huge impact.
‘You’ve got Scott Sio, who has got 70 caps and is a top- quality loosehead. Latu, he’s a huge leader for them and a big, big unit. Then you’ve got young Alaalatoa, who’s been going really well in this tournament. So, that narrative is no longer the case.’
Australia’s forwards are to be respected these days, but not feared. Marler and England have no fear, as they stand on the precipice, averting their gaze.