England rugby star reveals meeting in Horsham in ‘posh hotel’ before Eddie Jones took him back into the squad
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Harlequin Joe Marler, 31, returns to the matchday 23 for England’s clash with Tonga on Saturday.
The Eastbourne-born 72-cap international is on the bench after playing in fine form for his London-based club.
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Hide AdAnd now he has revealed that a meeting with England head coach Eddie Jones in Horsham was the catalyst for his return.
In a video shared by England Rugby on Instagram, he said: “The boss, AKA Eddie, has always been particulalry good with me seeing as I have been in and out of contention.
“He’s always appreciated my honesty. I’ll always be grateful to him.
“[He’s] given me opportunity to come back and have another crack at it.”
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Hide AdEddie met with the prop forward over the summer for coffee, Joe said.
He added: “[He] said he was down in Horsham. If the boss is asking for a coffee I’m intrigued.”
Joe said before the meeting he had to pick up a motorhome, which he drove to the ‘posh hotel’.
The front row, famed for his eye-catching haircuts and scrummaging technique, added: “We just sat and chewed the fat and spoke about how he sees the squad moving forward for the next two years – wheter I wanted to be a part of it.
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Hide AdThe forward joked: “I bit his hand off. He didn’t appreciate me biting him – he could get TB. I ain’t got TB but I could get it.
“So we had to patch that up, put a sticker on it. Like a plaster, a sticky plaster.
“And I left.”
Marler started his career at Haywards Heath RFC in Sussex where he played in the same side as fellow England international Billy Twelvetrees.
He went viral in November 2019 for a hilarious video of him horsing around.