JOE SEES NO SARRIES SPLIT
JOE MARLER does not think there will be a split in Eddie Jones’ Six Nations squad after Saracens accepted sanctions for salary-cap breaches and expects the club’s players to feature in next year’s tournament.
The loosehead prop returned to domestic duty with Harlequins on Monday after his World Cup exploits and could face Bath in the Champions Cup on Saturday.
In the Premiership, Harlequins have encountered a tough start but sit above Saracens, who have just been hit with a 35point deduction and fined £5.36million for breaching the salary cap.
Having now accepted their punishment after choosing not to appeal against the sanctions, the 2018-19 double-winners face the prospect of a relegation battle.
With this in mind, England coach Jones speculated whether Saracens’ players may decide to miss the Six Nations in order to fight the drop, but Marler does not feel that will be the case.
‘I would be surprised if boys did choose to play for their club based on Sarries having a strong enough and big enough squad to cope anyway. But it is a choice, there is always a choice,’ he said.
‘If I go back into the group, there might be a little bit more banter. I’ve given them (Saracens players) a bit about it over the last four or five years.
‘It’ll be put to one side. I don’t think any bridges will need to be built there.
‘I’ve teased them about it for the last few years. They’ve teased me about my s*** hair, how bad we’ve been here (Harlequins) in the past, my breath, my wonky nose.
‘Let’s say you’re a Sarries player and I’m me. You go into the England camp and this has come out. I go, “how about the old salary-cap stuff?”. It’s, “yeah, gutted”. How much more do you think we need to do?
‘You can’t change the past. It’s been dealt with. I wouldn’t want to carry something on if it had been dealt with.’
I’ve teased them about it for the past few years, they’ve teased me about my s*** hair