Joe Marler has issued an apology for his “shithouse” criticism of the haka that has whipped up a storm before England face New Zealand on Saturday. After the England captain, Jamie George, admitted that Marler had poked the bear with his criticism of the All Blacks’ traditional war dance, the loosehead prop took to social media again to row back on his earlier comments.
In the latest instalment of a saga that has dominated the buildup to the first autumn international, Marler’s apology comes after George had said that he disagreed with his teammate that the haka should be scrapped. George did, however, say that England were considering a response to the haka at Twickenham while the All Blacks head coach, Scott Robertson, said that Marler “could have articulated himself a little bit better”.
Robertson also insisted any responses to the haka should be respectful while the flanker Sam Cane claimed that the England front-rower “knew exactly what he was doing” before Cane said that performing the war dance was a show of respect.
Marler, who as the Guardian exclusively revealed, left the England team camp at the start of the week for personal reasons, took to social media again on Thursday night to clarify his comments. “Just wanted to jump on here and say sorry to any New Zealand fans I upset with my poorly articulated tweet earlier in the week,” he wrote.
“I meant no malice in asking for it to be binned, just want to see the restrictions lifted to allow for a response without sanction. How good were the [Richard] Cockerill/[Norm] Hewitt, [David] Campese, France ’07, Tokyo ’19 or Samoa v England rugby league responses? Create some entertaining drama before kick-off.
“My flippant attempt at sparking a debate around it was shithouse and I should have done better at explaining things. I’m grateful for the education received on how important the haka is to the New Zealand culture and hope others have a better understanding too. Now roll on 3pm on Saturday for a mega rugby occasion. I’ll get back in my attention-seeking box now.”
Earlier, George had said he disagreed with Marler’s view that the haka should be “binned”, insisting he “loves the history of it” but revealed he does believe opponents should be entitled to respond in a respectful manner. “It’s classic Joe, if I’m honest,” said George.
“He’s always been a little bit close to the line with certain social media posts. It’s not unhelpful. It’s a conversation that Joe and I actually had the week before; thoughts on it, what can we do back to it. I guess he’s sort of prodded the bear a little bit. We’ve chatted a little bit this week and I just said, ‘cheers mate, thanks very much’.”
On Tuesday, Marler wrote on social media that “the haka is ridiculous, it needs binning”. In another post, referencing the Siva Tau war dance before the rugby league Test between England and Samoa last Sunday, he said: “It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the [rugby] league boys did last week.”
In the two summer Test defeats by the All Blacks in Dunedin and Auckland, England opted to take a collective step towards New Zealand as they performed the haka. Before the 2019 World Cup, Eddie Jones hatched a plan for his side to form a V-formation but while they believed it had the desired effect with Mako Vunipola saying “we knew it would rile them up”; England were fined £2,000 for crossing the halfway line which is against World Rugby regulations.
“We’ll have a little chat about it, myself and some of the senior players, but, yeah, there might be something,” added George. “I think as long as it’s respectful, yes [responses are a good thing]. If it comes from the right place, yes. I think that you should be entitled to that.
“Growing up as a big rugby fan it was always something I enjoyed watching, and I’ve been lucky enough to face it a few times. I love the history of it. Joe and I, we don’t always agree on everything, so we disagree on this certain topic. I love it, I’ve got a pretty good understanding of it having travelled New Zealand, of what New Zealand and Māori culture is. I have friends from the Pacific Islands that have explained to me pretty well what it’s all about, that’s it’s a challenge that you lay down. It’s a brilliant part of the game and a great spectacle.”
Meanwhile, England have revealed the tighthead prop Trevor Davison is providing loosehead cover in the event of an injury to Ellis Genge or Fin Baxter before Saturday’s match, in effect ruling out an unlikely SOS call to Marler. Steve Borthwick will update his squad on Sunday and Marler is not expected to feature.
