The Daily Telegraph - Sport

Marler made the right call in bowing out for England

Internatio­nal stage is draining and being away from your family is the ultimate sacrifice

- AUSTIN HEALEY

Representi­ng your country is the ultimate privilege – and if you are playing for England, a handsomely paid privilege as well – but as Joe Marler’s retirement from internatio­nal rugby demonstrat­es, it can also be a sizeable burden.

This is not a decision he would have taken lightly so close to the World Cup. At 28, he has the best years ahead of him as a prop. If nothing else, he is giving up nearly £400,000 in match fees in the next 12 months and probably a sizeable amount in terms of bonuses and commercial opportunit­ies. Walking away from that requires guts and good reasons.

It is hard to explain quite how physically and emotionall­y draining playing internatio­nal rugby can be. Yes, it can be incredibly rewarding, but there’s another side to it, too.

I know a lot of people will be tired of hearing another “woe is me” piece about how hard it is to be a rugby player. They will point out – quite rightly – that there are thousands in this country who have a lot tougher jobs for which they get far less in return. Playing rugby for England, on the other hand, is the fulfilment of a childhood dream. At least it is at first, but at some point that dream fades and you sometimes lose that childlike enthusiasm.

I think we have to take Joe’s explanatio­n that he wants to spend more time with his family at face value. I am not going to pretend to know Joe on a personal level, but I did see him on holiday with his young children and it was clear that he was a doting father. He spent every single minute of the holiday that I saw him running around with his son.

If you add up all the internatio­nal training camps and matches leading into the World Cup, England players are going to be away from home for about six months. Spending half a year away from your young family is a massive loss.

Joe reminds me of the old second-row Garath Archer who loved playing for England, but it was never the main part of his life. I remember him in the team hotel speaking on the phone, which was a blatant violation of the team rules. Clive Woodward was trying to get the phone off him, but he said, “Clive, I’m on the phone to my family, you may have rules but my family come first.”

“Arch” later left his laptop in the team hotel and a note saying he was retiring, just before the 1999 World Cup.

Yet these decisions are rarely the result of a single reason. Usually, there are a multitude of factors. Was Joe happy playing second fiddle to Mako Vunipola? Can he be bothered to put up with Eddie Jones’s mind games? Does he just want to play for Quins and get

them back on track? Is he fed up with the constant scrutiny of his disciplina­ry record? Probably all those things played a part.

It is hard being second choice, as Joe has been over the past couple of years. When I was playing, there was a big group of bench guys who used to go out for a meal on the Thursday night. We were known as the bitter and twisted club. Effectivel­y, you go out and you character-assassinat­e everyone in the squad, including yourself. If you are in that club for a period of time, it can get quite draining.

You also cannot examine Joe’s retirement in isolation from the massive turnover of coaches and support staff under Jones. This is another sign that all is not well. If it was an amazing environmen­t and everyone involved absolutely loved being there, would he have made the same decision?

The more you beast the players, the more you play mind games, the less the productive they become in the long run.

Who knows? Maybe Mako might go down with an injury just before the World Cup (hopefully not) and if Eddie puts in the call, then Joe might change his mind. All I know is that my last year, when I was not playing for England, was among the most enjoyable of my career, even though my body was killing me. It was a liberating decision for me and I hope Joe finds it the same.

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 ??  ?? Family first: Joe Marler shows his delight at being reunited with his children after the Lions’ tour. England players can expect to be away from home for six months for the World Cup
Family first: Joe Marler shows his delight at being reunited with his children after the Lions’ tour. England players can expect to be away from home for six months for the World Cup

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