WHY PROP TURNED HIS BACK ON THE WORLD CUP AND A LOT OF MONEY FOR THE SAKE OF HIS KIDS
JOE MARLER admits he picked up rugby bans to avoid England duty.
The Harlequins prop made the shock confession just days after telling Eddie Jones he was retiring from the Test arena with immediate effect to spend more time with his family.
Marler, who won 59 caps and was in line to play at next year’s World Cup, made no secret of the fact he found the commitment necessary to play for his country too But only now has he revealed exactly how much that strain was eating him up inside.
“The Bristol game (before he took the decision) I played like an absolute helmet, which often happened around England time,” he told The Rugby Pod.
“The anxiety I would get about having to leave and go away again would manifest itself in giving away more dull penalties and looking for outs.
“Looking for a yellow card, looking for a red card. Because if I could pick up a ban – that’s an easy way out without actually pulling the trigger.”
Twice in 2016 he was banned, culminating in his withdrawal from England’s tour to Australia. But after picking up a yellow card that day against Bristol he decided he could no longer continue that way.
“I said, ‘I can’t keep doing this roller coaster’,” Marler explained, distancing his decision from the issue of player welfare.
“It’s not fair on my family, it’s not fair on the club. I’d had enough. I’ve got a young family.
“My boy’s four-and-amuch. half, he’s just started school. My little girl’s twoand-a-half. And we plan on having more – having a nice big family.
“I really enjoyed my time with England, I really enjoyed playing international rugby, but my family is my priority. As soon as I had kids, it completely flipped my perspective of life.”
England pay £25,000 per Test, so with training fees and bonuses added in, Marler could expect to make in the region of £500,000 over the next year.
“The amount of times I’ve had someone message me adding up all the earnings,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah I went through all that’.
“You talk about the coin and the earnings you can get off the back of it, but you can’t buy back the years or the parents’ evenings or the stuff that I could have potentially been missing out on.
“That’s not knocking boys for doing it, because that’s what they want to do – that’s the drive that they have. But I don’t have that drive. My drive is to be with my family,
“My kids are No.1. I just need to be around more.” Marler yesterday tried to qualify his remarks when he said: “I have never deliberately done anything on a rugby pitch – or off it – to get a ban.
“I was simply reflecting on my occasional irrational behaviour when England camps were looming and trying to understand my actions a little bit better.”
The RFU confirmed that no action would be taken against Marler as, “He made it clear he was talking about what was subconsciously at the back of his mind, not an actual action plan to get sent off ”.