Interview Marler aims to save rugby from itself
Consummate entertainer says sport must ditch ‘posh, stuffy’ image and encourage young players to express themselves
Joe Marler is straining for the appropriate adjective to describe his sport’s attempts at engaging new followers. “I just think rugby’s… still… stuck,” he says.
With that, the 31-year-old finds his stride. Gathering impetus, he volunteers a few obstacles to its wider appreciation. “A classic one is that we haven’t been professional for that long, which is true,” Marler adds. “The other one is that it is quite a complicated sport, so you get kids into it when they’re young and then have all these rules that you’ve got to teach them.
“I think the biggest one is the toffy, posh, stuffy, traditional view of rugby that it’s white and middle class and only played in private schools, or that it’s frowned upon if you express yourself or step out of the team line. That should be flipped.”
‘I want Marcus Smith to enjoy every second by doing what he wants to do and expressing himself’
There are solutions, too. Marler is an ambassador for Sports Slam, a nationwide initiative masterminded by retailer Sports Direct that aims to increase participation among youngsters. It alarmed him to learn of a survey that found three times as many primary schoolchildren would pick a streaming service over playing sport. He sounds passionate about addressing that trend.
To watch Marler play for Harlequins, especially in games at the Stoop, is like sitting among an adoring crowd consuming a celebrated comedian’s homecoming gig. Fans are delighted by his idiosyncratic mannerisms and sense of fun. The feeling is infectious and Marler’s form is thriving. He declares himself “fully available” for England’s tour of Australia, should head coach Eddie Jones want him.
Before club matches, Marler has taken to wearing eye-catching tracksuits. He was the cover star of last month’s Rugby World magazine, a dedicated style issue. Marler does not suppress his personality and is evidently more comfortable for that.
“As the top guys in a sport, you have a responsibility to grow it because you’re bearing the fruits of the sport at the top end as a result of it growing. The more it grows, the more you can benefit. Maybe that should be the way it’s spun,” he says.
Marler remembers his first training camp with England more than a decade ago. He attended “with a red dot in my hair” and was asked by a coach when he would be visiting the barber. Such conservatism, he believes, is dangerous.
“It may seem trivial, but it’s not,” he says. “As long as what someone is doing is coming from a place of love and what they are doing is not detracting from the team or affecting the game at the weekend… you encourage your kids to be themselves and enjoy themselves.”
According to Marler, mentoring greener team-mates is “one of the biggest drivers” for him to keep playing. He reaches for a comparison between two prominent flyhalves. “Jonny Wilkinson had an incredible career and has spoken about how much of it he did not enjoy. I want Marcus Smith to have all the highs, if not more, that Jonny had, and to enjoy every second of it by doing what he wants to do and expressing himself.”
To rugby union’s laws, then. Marler’s view is that technical nuance can wait and recently he has come across impressive youth coaches who agree.
“They introduce core skills for rugby without the ball-ache of going, ‘We need eight in a scrum and then you’ve got to be back five metres and then there’s something called a caterpillar ruck and you’ve got to stop them kicking but you’re not allowed to climb over it’. It’s like, Jeez, I just want to have fun.”
The slight contradiction is that Marler has developed into a grizzled prop who revels in the darkest art of scrummaging and outmanoeuvring less experienced adversaries.
“I do relish it,” Marler admits of set-piece duels. “I love it. I love seeing young opposition boys coming through as well, getting one up on me, trying their hardest, not getting one up on me. I love the battle of it.”
Marler will be a key part of Harlequins’ campaign to oust Saracens on Saturday, then retain their Premiership title. As for England, anything more than the 79 caps he has would be a bonus. “If my days are done, I’m happy with that,” he says. “If not, I feel I’ve got another 12-18 months to wind international props up.”
That window would take in the 2023 World Cup, of course. You sense Marler could be important.