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The internet is reacting to Joe Marler's 'ball and all' Alun Wyn Jones pinch

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An incident that saw England prop Joe Marler get intimately acquainted with Alun Wyn Jones didn’t go unnoticed as England and Wales players clashed just moments into their eagerly anticipated Six Nations showdown in Twickenham.

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Wales’ wing George North’s massive carry to the line six minutes into the game saw a build-up of bodies and things – somewhat inevitably – boiled over.

Marler, known for his on-field mischief, took it to the next level with an attempted bit of sleight of hand with Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones.

https://twitter.com/nickheathsport/status/1236335562577063938

An alarmed looking Jones, himself known for bringing plenty of edge to the contest, looked to the assistant referee for help but none was coming.

It was a moment that evoked the infamous Vinny Jones ball grab on Paul Gascoigne during a Premier League match in the mid-1990s.

James Haskell noted: “I’m kind of gutted that Joe Marler only squirted me with water. You must be his favourite Alun Wyn Jones.”

https://twitter.com/AndyGoode10/status/1236335357416869888
https://twitter.com/alexpaul85/status/1236335156732014593
https://twitter.com/jameshaskell/status/1236341840749748224
https://twitter.com/delmeparfitt/status/1236335289750171654
https://twitter.com/cocker/status/1236335279784558593

Wales must beat England to stand any chance of retaining the Six Nations crown they won in 2019 under former coach Warren Gatland.

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They have lost on their last four visits to Twickenham, with their previous success coming in a 28-25 victory in 2015.

– additional reporting AAP

WATCH: Jim discusses the ramifications of the Six Nations going behind a pay wall and no longer being shown on free to watch TV.

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AllyOz 1 hour ago
How the Lions found their roar, and disproved a popular Australian theory

Umm…really not sure about Les. I like the way the Reds are playing under him most of the time. But they seem a bit all or nothing at the moment. They have one way to play and if that starts going wrong, they don’t seem to have a plan B. I think they have gone for LK because he is as close as they can to keeping JS for the full four year term and through the RWC. But he hasn’t really ever won anything and he is 60 years old and been in the coaching game for 20 years, so I understand the trepidation some people have. I think it will be OK but that is based more on hope than anything else. I think for financial reasons and also so that they don’t leave Queensland without a coach, that they have delayed his start. I would have preferred that he, at the very least, did the Northern Tour with JS and then took the reigns - it seems less than ideal to delay his start date until after June 2026.


A lot of Oz fans are anti-Cheika - his last 18 - 24 months weren’t great. I personally would like to see him coach Australia again. I think he has consistently proven he is our best qualified coach and I think he is better than when he was there in 2019. A lot of people think that Raelene Castle was a good administrator but I am not in that camp. The Israel Folau situation and the impact it had on some other Polynesian players (Kerevi and Tupou are both on record for saying it caused a split) would have also been extremely difficult to manage. As a former coach (in lower grades) I can’t imagine how I would have been able to handle that side of things in terms of team unity, the demands of the press, and all the additional pressure it placed on the unit.


So, my choice would be to bring Cheika back, but after 2027 (if someone else doesn’t emerge in the meantime). I see LK as part of the JS era (sort of Obama/Biden vibes). Cheika will want to revolutionise and, while I think that will be fine, I don’t think 18 months out from the next RWC is the time to do it. We did that with Eddie and it had diabolical results and I think we are all a bit gun shy about doing the same thing again.

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