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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 think it was a better rugby destination for him.
He was developed in Melbourne and had a relatively brief stint there. I think he was possibly dropped out of the squad for the return of someone like To'omua (also a Melbourne local) in 2019 ahead of the RWC. But then he wasn't picked up by another Australian team and went to play in Japan when he only really seemed to play a hat full of top level games (maybe injured for long periods??) before he went on to Scotland. But it was only in Scotland that he started to get a lot of consistent game time and selection.
The thing is, no one talked about him being a missed opportunity in Australia before he left - a little like Mac Hansen. But he has been able to forge a top level career since leaving. Both men only had a handful (5 or 6?) games at Super Rugby level before they made a decision to leave (or had it made for them I suppose). Other countries have gone on to develop them and that is great for them and it is probably good for the global game as it means the best players are rising to the top - if not in their birth country than in another. I think there are a lot of issues with poor player development in Australia but I don't know if these two blokes are very good examples of it.
Go to commentsOk I understand. Give them my number please Nick.
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