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South African coach calls out 'not so kosher' Joe Marler incident

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

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.

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“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.

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“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.

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“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.”

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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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11 Comments
F
Flankly 579 days ago

Marler should stick to things he's good at. Like hilarious interviews. On the rugby field he is an uninteresting thug.

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BigMaul 579 days ago

Talk about a storm in a tea cup! We have a ‘hold’ on the tighthead, which is little more than a tug of the shirt. I mean really? You want to whinge about that?! And an arm over the top of Fourie… it’s not clear where it goes, though I understand the implication from de Bruin - this is just a rugby incident, don’t want to be tugged where you don’t like it then don’t lie on top of a player and rub your elbow in his face. Nothing to see here. Non story.

e
eamonn 579 days ago

hes a scumbag and will always be

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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