How Marler and Sinckler got back on the front line
NICK VERDIER talks to Harlequins’ barnstorming front-row duo on mission to bring down the All Blacks
Quins pair Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler spent last summer worlds apart – one the raw tyro on the up, the other on the way down. Or even out. Now they head to New Zealand as part of the Lions elite, both very much at the top of the game.
While tighthead Sinckle, 24, was picked by Eddie Jones as an uncapped player to tour Australia, loosehead Marler opted to stay at home, pulling out of the squad during their pre-tour camp in Brighton due to mental exhaustion that left him feeling as if he “couldn’t be arsed to play for England”.
Sinckler did not get to play against the Wallabies, but his rise has been sensational this season making his debut against South Africa in November and going on to make seven further appearances off the bench since.
And after a summer off, Marler kicked off his season with a fresh mindset, fitter than ever. He worked his way back into the England squad, winning his 50th cap against Scotland in the Six Nations, and both are now tasked with the toughest job of the lot – trying to down the All Blacks in New Zealand.
While the blockbusting cameos off the bench have the rugby world raving about Sinckler, the man himself reveals he was almost happier for his colleague to be named in Warren Gatland’s squad than he was for himself.
“I was really happy to be in the squad but I was maybe more happy for Joe to be picked given where he was last year,” Sinckler told The Rugby Paper.
“To come back and start for England again, the performances he puts in. I don’t think he gets the recognition he deserves.
“I was over the moon for him because I know he missed out on the last Lions tour. He keeps his cards close to his chest but it’s got to affect you in some ways when you’re starting for your country and you don’t get that nod. The way he’s come back from that has been phenomenal. I’m just glad he’ll be there looking after me.”
On his decision last summer, Marler said: “Retiring crossed my mind but it was just a passing thought. I don’t think I spiralled that far down. I always wanted to get back involved. I love the game too much to pack it in.
“I felt I couldn’t be arsed to play for England and I knew I shouldn’t have had that mindset. I thought I shouldn’t have that opportunity and that someone else should have it.
“But I’ve enjoyed rugby a lot more this year. Last summer gave me more time to spend with the family and reassess what I needed to do here at the club.
“All I wanted to do was enjoy playing rugby again and next thing you know we’ve done an awesome autumn series, we win the Six Nations and I hear my name called out in Gatland’s squad which is a dream come true.”
And if having each other’s support wasn’t enough for Marler and Sinckler, they will also have Graham Rowntree alongside them after the Quins forwards coach was once again included in Gatland’s coaching set up.
“Wig’s been a great addition to the club,” said Marler. “Quins haven’t been renowned for having a bit of dog in their pack but rather for being a bit soft under belly. He’s brought a bit more dog to our game and it’s helped the pack massively. For Sinckler, Rowntree’s arrival at Quins only gave him one more brain to pick. He said: “The likes of him, Joe, Adam Jones or James Horwill have literally changed my life. They are right at the top of the game and that’s where I want to be. I want to be in that category when I finish playing rugby and I’m lucky to be around guys who are front five specialists day in day out.
“I’d be an absolute idiot if I didn’t try to be a sponge and soak up everything, watch how they analyse their opponents and how smart they are. I’ve literally been like an eagle watching them.”
But Marler is fully aware home comfort will count for nothing once the Test series starts on June 24.
He said: “You look at Owen Franks who’s very good technically at the scrum. There aren’t many in the world who are as gifted as him technically.
“Dan Coles is phenomenal and he’s pretty much a centre playing hooker. He’s a bit like Mako in that regard taking the piss out of the ‘front row union’ with all these skills.
“Joe Moody is at loosehead with Wyatt Crockett being in and out of the squad. But they’re both tidy operators like the rest of the squad and the 10 or 15 players after that.”
Marler speaks from experience having locked horns with Franks during each of England’s three Tests in New Zealand back in 2014 in a tour that also included Sinckler.
But Sinckler packed his bag knowing Stuart Lancaster had no intention of giving him his Test debut with only the mid-week game against the Crusaders with the potential for game time.
Two years on and having ousted Northampton’s Paul Hill as Dan Cole’s understudy, Sinckler is very much looking forward to return to the rugby-mad country. He said: “2014 was a different kind of feeling. I was 20-21, I was just coming on the scene, I wasn’t expecting to play and that wasn’t good for me.
“I was the fourth tighthead behind David Wilson, Henry Thomas and Kieran Brookes. I was just going to go out there and play 20 minutes in the midweek game. I kind of knew that but I knew that whatever I did I wasn’t going to get picked anyway.
“New Zealand was just rugby mad. Everyone out there loves rugby and it’s great to experience that. It’s the No.1 sport in that country and you can see the passion and the respect everyone has for the game.
“You turn on the TV and they talk about the rugby game against England on the weekend. You go to the next channel and there’s the game from the previous weekend and then on another one there’s some U13s school rugby. You can’t get away from it.
“I’ll go out there with a lot more experience this time and I’m definitely a hell of a lot better player. I’ll be representing the British and Irish Lions too which is a massive privilege.”