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What Jamie George said to Joe Marler over anti-Haka comments

By PA
Jamie George (R) talks to Joe Marler during the England training session held at Pennyhill Park on August 21, 2023 in Bagshot, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

England captain Jamie George fears Joe Marler has provoked New Zealand by calling for the Haka to be scrapped ahead of Saturday’s clash at Allianz Stadium.

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George believes Marler has “prodded the bear” after writing on the social media site X on Tuesday night that “The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.”

Marler will not face the All Blacks in the autumn opener after leaving camp on Monday morning for personal reasons and it is doubtful if he will play a part in any of the remaining fixtures against Australia, South Africa and Japan.

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In an unexpected twist, it has emerged that the 34-year-old prop had still made himself available against New Zealand in the event that either starting loosehead Ellis Genge or replacement Fin Baxter were ruled out.

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.

Marler’s comments on the Maori war dance drew a furious backlash in New Zealand, while All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson on Thursday reacted by calling it a “great tradition of rugby”, adding that the Harlequin should have chosen his words more carefully.

George does not share the view of his controversial front-row colleague, who he suspects has provided the 2023 World Cup runners-up with extra motivation.

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“The Haka was always something I enjoyed watching growing up as a big rugby fan and I’ve been lucky enough to face it a few times. I love the history of it,” George said.

“Joe and I, we don’t always agree on everything, so we disagree on this certain topic. It’s classic Joe if I’m honest.

“He’s always been a little bit close to the line with certain social media posts so nothing comes as a surprise with him. We’ve chatted a little bit this week and I just said, ‘cheers mate, thanks very much!’.

“It’s a conversation that Joe and I actually had the week before – thoughts on the Haka, what can we do back to it, all that kind of thing. I guess he’s prodded the bear a little bit.”

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England are planning a possible response to the All Blacks’ famous pre-match ritual as they seek their first win in the fixture at Twickenham since 2012.

Eddie Jones’ England took on the Haka before their stunning 2019 World Cup semi-final victory by adopting a V-shape formation. Robertson described it as an “awesome” way to face down the war dance.

“We’ll have a little chat about it, myself and some of the senior players. But yes, there might be something,” George said.

“What I love about the Haka at Twickenham is that you hear the noise and the theatre that comes with it.

“It’s not just about our reaction. It’s the fans’ reaction – the cheering and the chanting that goes on with it. That’s the stuff that makes rugby special.

“What I know is you can do what you like to the Haka but fundamentally it’s going to come down to how you front up physically against the All Blacks and that’s what we’ve got to focus on.”

Assistant coach Kevin Sinfield insists that Marler is “doing OK” and expects a clearer picture over his availability for the rest of the Autumn Nations Series to emerge over the weekend.

Marler has talked at length of his mental health issues and has missed England camps because of his depression.

Watch the exclusive reveal-all episode of Walk the Talk with Ardie Savea as he chats to Jim Hamilton about the RWC 2023 experience, life in Japan, playing for the All Blacks and what the future holds. Watch now for free on RugbyPass TV

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Comments

9 Comments
F
Flankly 105 days ago

He’s always been a little bit close to the line

For Joe there is no line. That's why he is amusing.

B
Bull Shark 106 days ago

Gahd.


I hope they don’t do some contrived synched bollocks move. Just sing sweet chariot and be done with it.


Or, do a human pyramid. Yes. A human pyramid would be cool. With itoje a doing a handstand on the top.

I
Icefarrow 106 days ago

It's going to be something unoriginal, that's for sure. For all this talk of responding to the haka, all anyone seems to do is line up in a v-shape or something. Would be nice to see something creative for a change.

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JW 5 hours ago
Western Force and ACT Brumbies looking for signs of progress in Super Rugby Pacific

Yeah, that’s what I was referring to too. You know in that situation the kind of things that form your picture of NRL or A league etc disappear in the case of kiwi rugby supporters, where they believe they have that advantage over aus rugby.


I have to put my hand up here. While I can see the reasoning behind a much better Reds, and even though they were good enough to win against the top 3 last year, I still don’t see them climbing (places) like you’d expect (all fair and reasonable points aside I mean).


But yes, I asked that because I do find aussie rugby supporters unique in this example of pragmatism. Look, I still think the circumstances dictate that it is why there isn’t more support for rugby in aus (they would need to win more like anything), but it is a) the kind of outlook that made my try to think of the SR standings in a way unassociated to nationality, and b) something that should be captured somehow and adopted by everyone.


Because I have no doubt SR died because of nationalism. Here, like with your above example, all there were for years were complaints of how better kiwi teams weren’t getting a deserved finals ranking. Now while the whole topic is complicated to get right, to have it get to the point where one side almost wants to kill it off and drive the otherside away is just not healthy.


I honestly think there are really easy things to do that could resolve the problem (if aus rugby culture couldn’t be copied/spread lol) like having even just a few players in each others teams. SR’s getting by right now because aussies population is so big there are still enough core fans that can have your outlook (though that survey said nearly a third also support another country?), but everything changes, and if the shoe is on the other foot at some time in the future I’d imagine that problem would “remain“ just long enough that NZ wouldn’t be able to “get by”.


There are just so many sports like SR that don’t have a parity system and end up with this sort of predictability that must be hard to ignore and get excited about. That its not down to something simple like being the richest is irrelevant. Visiting Japan it was really interesting to see how they had become supporters of these particular top sides. What do Canadians think about the Stanley Cup going to teams out of Law Vegas and Florida?

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