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Joe Marler replies to Kyran Bracken after 2003 winner criticises loosehead's infamous pre-2019 RWC final interview with Dan Cole

By Josh Raisey
(Photo by David Rogers/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Joe Marler has provided a simple response to England World Cup winner Kyran Bracken, who recently described the loosehead’s pre-2019 World Cup final interview alongside Dan Cole as “embarrassing”. 

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In an interview with Clive Woodward for The Daily Mail, Bracken and his former 2003 coach went over England’s recent slump in form in the Guinness Six Nations, with Woodward emphasising the point that there should have been an inquest after England’s World Cup final loss to South Africa. 

This prompted Bracken to mention the much discussed interview with Cole and Marler in the build up to the final in Yokohama and he made comparisons between the week before 2019 final and what England did prior to the 2003 final. 

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“I saw that Joe Marler-Dan Cole press conference and it was embarrassing,” he said. “At the start of that last week in Australia in 2003 you asked us all to give you one more week, just another seven days to stay focused, zero distractions. It was vital.”

Marler provided a laconic response on Twitter, tagging Bracken in his post alongside a sleeping emoji, but this tweet has since been deleted.

This is not the first time the Harlequins prop has fired back after his attitude in that pre-final interview has been brought up. Woodward had previously criticised it and Marler offered a similar retort. Marler was part of the team that lost to the Springboks, but the 30-year-old opted to miss this year’s Six Nations for personal reasons. 

Although England’s 2021 woes did feature in the interview, the crux of the Woodward-Bracken conversation was about head injuries in rugby and the problems which former scrum-half faced during his playing career and since his retirement. Bracken was one of a few sportspeople who recently gave evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the concussion in sport inquiry.

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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