JOE FACING INSULT RAP
Marler in trouble for coach slur
EnGLand prop Joe Marler faces rFU sanctions after aiming an obscene insult at former australia coach Bob dwyer on social media.
Marler used twitter to call dwyer ‘a w*****’ in response to his claim that england tighthead dan Cole scrummaged illegally in the first test against the Wallabies last Saturday. the tweet was quickly deleted.
the rFU has strict guidelines on the use of social media and Marler, a member of the elite player squad, now faces action.
‘ How anyone could have allowed dan Cole to scrummage the way he did was absolutely beyond me,’ dwyer had said after england’s 39-28 win in Brisbane.
Marler, who ruled himself out of england’s tour after a troubled end to the season, responded to dwyer on twitter.
‘Bob dwyer is a w*****,’ Marler wrote on his official account.
Marler himself was accused of scrummaging illegally by dwyer during the build- up to last autumn’s crucial World Cup group game against the Wallabies.
england subsequently endured a torrid day at the set-piece, but having dispatched australia in the first test, they will clinch a historic series victory down Under if they win in Melbourne on Saturday.
Marler was fined £20,000 and given a two-week ban for calling Wales prop Samson Lee ‘gypsy boy’ during the rBS 6 nations game between the two sides.
Meanwhile, the television trailer being used here to promote england’s series against australia — the one damned by eddie Jones as ‘demeaning’ — is a painful watch for ex- captain Chris robshaw, but it has galvanised him and his team-mates.
the arrogant, mocking Fox Sports advert features their pundits ridiculing the tourists’ hopes in the three tests and is interspersed with footage of robshaw and other shattered englishmen in the immediate aftermath of being beaten by these rivals at last year’s World Cup.
asked if he had seen the trailer, robshaw said: ‘Yeah. It hurts. For us, it’s just been used as motivation.’
However, the 30-year- old was adamant that squaring up to these foes four days ago did not stir up buried demons. Michael Cheika’s side thumped england 33-13 last autumn to condemn the hosts to a pool- stage exit, but robshaw is not using this series as a revenge mission — there are new targets in mind.
‘Coming down here, it was never about the World Cup and what happened,’ said the man who was captain during the tournament. ‘It was about doing something special and trying to make a bit of history. there has (been quite a turnaround) but this is very special in its own right.’
Jones was incensed after the series opener about a perceived lack of respect shown to his squad since their arrival down Under, but that respect has to be earned. the win at Suncorp Stadium was robshaw’s first in six attempts against the southern hemisphere giants.
‘ It was my first win in the southern hemisphere,’ he said. ‘that is pretty special in its own right. It is now about kicking on.’
england’s success in the first test was founded largely on work- rate, aggression and bloody-minded defiance. robshaw is the embodiment of all that, never letting up to earn the admiration of his head coach.
‘He’s one of the glue players. He gives you the small things in the game,’ said Jones.
‘the kick at goal which hit the post — he was the guy that raced down and tackled (david) Pocock. that play led to the lineout where we scored. as far as the team was concerned that was robshaw’s try because of the work he did. that’s the value he gives the team, it’s enormous.’