‘The scariest thing that’s ever hit you’ – Joe Marler urges England players to not ‘let the fear’ of tackling the Springboks ‘win’
Springboks v England scrum at the 2023 Rugby World Cup with an insert of prop Joe Marler.
Joe Marler believes that going toe to toe with the Springboks scrum is the ‘scariest thing that’s ever hit you’ as he admits that he would love to be part of their pack.
Having recently retired from international rugby, Marler will not be running out for England at Twickenham on Saturday when Steve Borthwick’s side locks horns with South Africa for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-finals.
However, the 34-year-old has offered advice to his former teammates as they face the daunting task of taking on the back-to-back world champions.
Scariest thing
“You try not to feel fear, as an international rugby player. Definitely not as a front-row forward. And then you play South Africa, and a scrum gets called, and suddenly it’s the scariest thing that’s ever hit you,” Marler admitted in his Daily Mail column.
“Here’s how it happens. You go to bind up. Then the fight begins in your head. The doubts: these boys are the best in the world, this is going to hurt, if it goes wrong, this is going to go really wrong.
“The challenges: yeah they’re the best in the world, so this is exactly where I want to be, and if we can get parity or even the upper hand, this could be the most beautiful thing we ever do on a rugby field.
“It’s not like any other scrum, when you’re up against the Boks. Some international teams you can half get away with it, if you’re struggling. If you get your engagement wrong you can deck it or try to win a penalty.
“Not against this lot. If it goes wrong, they feed you into the mangle. And so it’s a powerful feeling to be engulfed by, this intense mixture of scared and excited and fearful. You engage and they push and you try to hold and you think: my entire reputation in rugby will be in tatters if I don’t get this right.”
Marler was part of the England team that faced South Africa in the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup as he was famously stepped by Cheslin Kolbe as the Springboks winger danced his way to the touchline in Japan.
He also faced the Boks in the semi-final last year, a fixture where the scrum had a massive influence on the result with South Africa able to eke out crucial penalties at the set-piece en route to a 16-15 victory.
Springboks’ mentality around the scrum
As a front rower, Marler is a scrum enthusiast and admires the South African approach and view of the set-piece.
“They love it, the Springboks and the scrum. Their entire rugby DNA is built around it,” he wrote.
Later adding: “I wouldn’t want to be South African, but I would love to be part of their pack. Imagine being part of a team that is literally built to scrummage. Imagine being part of an eight that don’t care about ball in hand, that actually don’t want to be anywhere near the ball unless they’re steamrollering over it in a scrum. That sort of stuff gets into your soul.”
The Harlequins’ prop believes that England can topple the Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday in the Autumn Nations Series if they get their mentality right up front, particularly around their “mauling, brawling and scrummaging”.
He signed off his column with his final piece of advice to Borthwick’s players: “Don’t let the fear win. Be brave. Make it a beautiful thing.”
