Joe Marler back in his ‘attention-seeking box’ after apologising for All Blacks’ Haka remarks
TJ Perenara leads the All Blacks Haka and an insert of England prop Joe Marler.
England prop Joe Marler returned to social media on Thursday evening to apologise to All Blacks fans for his posts calling for the Haka to be scrapped.
The 34-year-old caused a stir earlier in the week with his post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, writing: “The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.”
Joe Marler’s apology
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson responded to the comments by saying that he wondered if Marler regretted not choosing his words more carefully.
“I know Joe. I wonder if he wishes he could have articulated himself better on that,” Robertson said.
“The Haka for us it’s a custom, it’s part of who we are, it’s in our DNA.
“You can use it to welcome somebody, it’s for occasions it’s for joy and also for challenge. We use it as a challenge and we believe it’s a great tradition of rugby of rugby that all Pacific nations do before to honour where they come from.
“It’s not just about the All Blacks, it’s about us as a country, so it means a lot to us.”
All Blacks: Scott Robertson hits back at Joe Marler’s haka jibe and takes a dig at Springboks
The England front-rower seemingly agrees after issuing an apology on Thursday where he provided more clarity on his position.
“Hey rugby fans. 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,” his post read.
“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 Cockerill/Hewitt, Campese, France ’07, Tokyo ’19 or Samoa vs England rugby league responses? Create some entertaining drama before kick off. My flippant attempt at sparking a debate around it was s***house 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. England by 6pts. I’ll get back in my attention-seeking box now. Big Love x.”
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Marler could still face the All Blacks
England Rugby confirmed earlier this week that Marler had left the camp for personal reasons, not related to his activity on social media, and while he is doubtful for the remainder of the Autumn Nations Series – it is understood that he has made himself available to Steve Borthwick for the clash against the All Blacks in an emergence.
In the event that either starting loosehead prop Ellis Genge or replacement Fin Baxter are ruled out, Marler is available to plug the void.
England had initially agreed for him to be on standby, only to then put Trevor Davison on notice that he will act as emergency cover in the unlikely event Genge or Baxter become unavailable.
