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South African coach calls out 'not so kosher' Joe Marler incident
By Liam Heagney
Out-of-favour England prop Joe Marler has been criticised by ex-Springboks assistant Swys de Bruin for some of his antics with Harlequins during last Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup round-of-16 defeat at the Stormers. The London club exited the tournament on the back of their defeat in Cape Town and it was the following day, during a review of the match on the Final Whistle programme on Super Sport, that the front-rower was singled out for his in-game mischief.
“I’m not sure he is above board with all the stuff he is doing,” claimed de Bruin, who stepped away from the Springboks prior to the 2019 Rugby World Cup which culminated in a final in Yokohama between South Africa and England.
An initial clip was shown of Marler being a nuisance after a scum, but it was a second clip involving a first-half incident with Deon Fourie that most drew the ire of de Bruin. That showed Marler reaching across at a breakdown and grabbing Fourie in an uncompromising position.
“Look what he does now, he is offside, he goes and he grabs the hooker and tighthead,” began de Bruin, commentating on the aftermath of the scrum in the first clip.
“You can’t do that. Now he walks casually around, they [Harlequins] do steal the ball and he now becomes the scrum-half. He will pass the ball to the backfield. That is what you call a make-your-own-arrangements pass.
“Now here is chapter two of the Joe Marler story. They [the Stormers] are defending, he comes in and look what happens, he is coming in on the clean,” explained du Bruin. "It's not so kosher what he is doing there, and Deon Fourie doesn't enjoy it. Deon said, 'No mate, that’s not on, you can't do that, it's just not rugby'. He goes down and gets treated.
“But I want you to have a look at what he [Marler] really did, what really annoyed Deon Fourie... I have got to pick my words correctly... That is the last thing that you want, to get that treatment. That was Joe Marler. Do we need those characters? Yes. But maybe we don’t need that last action so much.”
Marler wasn’t cited after the game which the Stormers won 32-28 to book their quarter-final spot away to Exeter this Saturday.
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Latest Comments
I do in that sense yes. I just think when it gets to 'don't stand out, toe the line', team first becomes a poor excuse for anti-individualism. If this 10 feels aggrieved and believes in himself, he should have the right to say it and put his money where his mouth is. That said, you can't fault Galthie's response. Very gallant gallic insouciance. ( I too live in France) :)
Go to commentsHe was Defence coach with Castres when they won the French Championship and they had the best defence in the competition so he does have credibility, he also has coached Oyonnax with limited resources to beat teams in the top 14 with much bigger budgets so the idea that he has no credibility is ignorant and incorrect, whether he will turn out to be a success is something that nobody knows however the RFU didn't just just say to Borthwick pick your friend, he had been on their radar for at least 5 years or more.
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