Joe Marler remarks won't earn him any new fans in South Africa
Joe Marler had a twinkle in his eye. With a medal round his chest for his player of the match display in Harlequins’ 19-13 win in Bath, he was giving a trademark performance with BT Sport’s Sarra Elgan Easterby. A bit of wit, a pinch of self-deprecation, a handful of bants. Classic Joe.
Then the conversation turned to his team’s 11, 826 mile round trip to Durban to take on the Sharks in their opening game of this season’s European Rugby Champions Cup.
“You want to talk about Europe and we’re going to Natal Sharks next week,” Marler said, emphasising the word ‘Natal’ with an incredulous tone. His eyebrows raised, his eyes wide, the man could scarcely conceive of such a ridiculous notion.
He continued with a question: “Which is where?” Elgan Easterby answered with an awkward chuckle: “In South Africa”. Marler leaned back and with a self-satisfied expression reiterated the point. “In South Africa,” he proclaimed, as if he’d just told a colleague that their fly was down.
To be fair to Marler, his demeanour shifted when he spoke of a planned visit to a local orphanage. KwaZulu-Natal, to give the province its proper name, has endured an almost Biblically turbulent two years. Plague, floods, blackouts and enough political assassinations to fill the Books of Samuel have contributed to a ubiquitously despondent mood. Once again, rugby can act as a tonic.
But that was not the main takeaway from Marler’s post-match tête-à-tête. He encapsulated a sentiment that has been percolating ever since it was announced that the top five South African unions (or, if you’d prefer, franchises) will be competing in Europe’s premier club competitions.
Of course, Marler might have been play-acting for the cameras. He is, after all, a showman and understands better than most players that the spectacle is enhanced when it is filled with enigmatic characters. But by poking a pressure point he simultaneously touched a nerve.
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Writing for the Daily Mail in February this year, Sir Clive Woodward said it would be “brainless” to allow South Africa to join the hallowed halls of European rugby. He was referring to the Six Nations, but the overall attitude of his think-piece smacked of old-world elitism.
He had no such qualms with European clubs using South African muscle in order to elevate the standard of the continent’s game. Nor has he raised a stink after every European nation selected players with thick South African accents. As many as 27 of them have lifted the Champions Cup with 41 contesting the final since 1996. Was it brainless, Sir Clive, to include them?
This apprehension, though widespread, is not universal. A cursory glance across social media channels and below the line comment sections shows that there is enough goodwill from fans – the people who matter more than one Knight of the Realm – that is fuelled by more than curiosity. It would appear that this extra variable from Africa’s southern tip has been largely welcomed.
This column is for the optimists. It is for those who understand that borders are arbitrary and that continents are simply constructs of the mind. I’ve written previously on the angst emanating from certain pundits who’d prefer to see tradition trump progress. Much of their scepticism is rooted in a previous age where moustachioed imperialists divided the globe with rulers on a map. Did anyone stop to ask the important questions? What is Europe? What is a hemisphere? Why do we even need passports?
Not that the South African teams will be poring over such debates, nor will they pay any attention to the doubters and cynics. They’ll be desperate to prove they belong. They’re entering uncharted territory. What’s more, they know it.
The noise coming from the teams themselves has been muted. The Bulls’ coach, Jake White, has already equated the Champions Cup to Test rugby and has warned his countrymen not to be naive to the challenges they face.
White’s counterpart at the Stormers, John Dobson, said that he wanted his team to do themselves “justice” by giving an accurate account of themselves for this “special occasion”. The Sharks winger, Yaw Penxe, spoke of a “buzz” around Durban as they gear up for a clash against a Harlequins team skippered by a former Shark in Stephan Lewies.
Any prediction at this point is almost meaningless. The French clubs might continue their habit of fielding weakened teams for away trips and could further strip back their arsenal on the road when asked to make the long journey down to South Africa. This may prove helpful for the competition’s newbies and their push for a place in the knockout rounds.
Whether by luck or merit, all three all three heavy hitters will be aiming for the quarterfinals at least. If only the bookies gave them much hope of doing so.
According to one betting company, 13 other teams are ahead of them on the pecking order. Leinster, Toulouse, Saracens and the reigning champions, La Rochelle, lead the way ahead of a clutch of seasoned French, Irish and English teams. That may change after the first round and a few resounding wins, but this is a sign that success in the United Rugby Championship doesn’t necessarily equate to success in what is now unquestionably the toughest assignment in club rugby.
The Stormers win in the inaugural URC will help ease whatever nerves might exist. That unexpected triumph was supplemented by the Bulls’ semi-final victory over Leinster in Dublin, arguably the most impressive result by a South African club team in the professional era. Along with a Springboks laden Sharks team, the South Africans will walk lightly but carry a big stick.
The Lions and Cheetahs have been lumped together in the same group in the Challenge Cup and will themselves be targeting a place in the final eight. Anything beyond that would be considered a bonus.
The South Africans must now do something they’ve never done before and compete across two hostile fronts. Cardiff’s win over the Sharks proves that the URC can’t be treated lightly and now the old powers in Europe will want to put the South Africans in their place. They in turn will want to show that their place is right here in ‘Europe’, whatever that means.
Comments on RugbyPass
A year ago Ireland and France looked impressive. In this 6N neither looked special. Both have lost good players, but more importantly teams have figured out how to shut them down. In particular the Irish loss to a rebuilding England and the home game struggle against a brave Scotland did nothing to prove that the Irish RWC result was undeserved. If the Scots can shut down the Irish attack, then SA can do so with interest. Rassie will have watched that game with confidence. Farrell is smart, and the Irish team is talented, so we should expect a more creative game plan in SA. But if all they bring is what they showed against Scotland then Ireland is going to struggle against the Boks. It was a fun 6N tournament, but the win for Ireland was as much about weak competition as about Irish brilliance. It was mostly due to France being off the boil, Wales and Italy not being contenders, and Scotland being a home game. England are looking much better, but “much better” should not be enough to topple a team that is supposed by some to be The Best in the World. I hope that Ireland can bump it up a notch or two for the Bok tour. A year ago they were fantastic to watch. It would be great to see that again.
24 Go to commentsLooking forward to the Wallabies being competitive again. No doubt that Joe can get them back on track.
1 Go to commentsThanks, Nick, not only for this fine article, but for all the others during 6N 2024. I really enjoyed this 2024 tournament, and felt it was one of the best for many years. That final match in Lyons was really good. England were certainly unlucky when that speculative hack by Ramos lead to a French try. It could just so easily have landed in English hand.s, and they score at the other end. I did think though that the French played some great rugby, and some of their driving play in the forwards was just fearsome. I watched Meafou with interest, and he has a good start to his career. It is interesting to compare him with Will Skelton. Lot of similarities, though so far Meafou has not shown any offloading threat. All credit to Borthwick for being prepared to change, and what great result, even if that last game was lost at the death. I feel they are a real chance to cause the AB’s problems this winter/summer. Finally a comment on Ireland. I thought their last game was their worst, and they did not look like the world’s No 2 side at all. What really worries me is that the loss to England was, in my view, down to poor decision making by the coaching group, and ofc Andy Farrell wears that. It was a big mistake to move JGP away from scrum half. Murray should have been the one to go to the wing. And the “finishers” should have been on the field earlier. And this is the second time this has happened. The RWC Qf against the AB’s, and not getting Crowley onto the field was a huge mistake. Finally, finally, watching Italy play was a joy. How wonderful that they are no longer the punchbag of the 6 N.
41 Go to commentsGreat story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
41 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
24 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
41 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
41 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
3 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to comments