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Marler 'nothing more than an egotistical narcissist' - Ex-Wales skipper blasts England prop
A former Welsh skipper has branded England prop Joe Marler as ‘nothing more than an egotistical narcissist’.
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Speaking on BBC Scrum V, Gwyn Jones laid into the England bad boy after his fondling incident with current Welsh skipper Alun Wyn Jones.
Marler escaped sanction for the first-half incident during a melee that went unnoticed by the match officials at the time. However it was revealed today that he was cited and will face repercussions.
The Harlequins prop could now face a suspension as long as 24 weeks after Six Nations bosses convened a disciplinary hearing in Dublin on Thursday.
There was no sympathy for Marler’s actions on Scrum V on Sunday night, with Gwyn Jones leading the criticism of the loosehead.
“I think it was an attempt of humour of some kind but I don’t think there’s any doubt that it was unacceptable to do what he did”, he said.
“I think this is another example of Joe Marler just showing his stupidity.
“I think he’s trying to cultivate this image of him as a rugby character, where it’s the Mohican haircut, or the words he used against Samson Lee, or the interviews he does.
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“To me, the attempt of humour there was inappropriate and will get sanctioned. He’s nothing more than an egotistical narcissist – if they could ban him for being an idiot, they should, but I don’t know if they can.”
Marler’s England colleague Courtney Lawes will also face a disciplinary hearing on Thursday, having been cited for a dangerous tackle on Jones during Saturday’s 33-30 win at Twickenham.
Manu Tuilagi’s automatic hearing following a red card will also be held at the same time, with the centre also set to discover if he will be suspended.
Six Nations disciplinary chiefs confirmed Marler would face a hearing, charged with infringing laws on sportsmanship, with the Quins front-rower called into question over allegedly “twisting or squeezing genitals”.
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Marler’s cryptic tweet of “B*******. Complete b*******,” while not directly attributed to anything, could easily be viewed negatively by the authorities.
Wales captain Jones was frustrated that no action was taken against Marler at the time of the incident.
“There’s a lot of footage that has been shown, it seems like a lot of supporters saw what happened,” said Jones.
“It’s very frustrating that we talk a lot about TMOs (television match officials) and footage reviews, yet there doesn’t seem to be a lot of it happening.”
England boss Eddie Jones lamented a clutch of refereeing calls in the aftermath of his side’s slender victory over the Welsh, but Tuilagi’s red card yields an automatic hearing.
The disciplinary panel are likely to take a dim view of head coach Jones’ criticism of match referee Ben O’Keefe, with the outspoken Australian claiming “at the end we were 13 against 16 and that’s hard”, and branding Tuilagi’s red card “absolute rubbish”.
Northampton flanker Lawes could also now face a ban too, should he be found guilty of a dangerous tackle.
– PA, additional reporting RugbyPass
WATCH: Wales coach Wayne Pivac and captain Alun Wyn Jones speak at a press conference following the team’s Guinness Six Nations match against England.
Comments on RugbyPass
You ask good questions, Nick. The group who have put together the proposal to play out of Tarneit and participate in the growing of the ground’s capacity are not a bunch of white knights who have been dragged in post-crisis; they were around whilst the Rebels accummulated $23m in debt. Why do we come up with ideas that might make the franchise affordable after it’s broke and not when it might have prevented the trainwreck this offseason was? As for Gordon/Kellaway v Lolesio/Wright, they are both good options. I think the former are better rugby players but the goal kicking of Noah may be decisive when Schmiddy makes his choices. I know Harry Jones has the hots for Edmed but I think it’s one of his few poor choices and he and Jorgensen aren’t close to the other pairs. By coincidence, the wife and I went into town over the weekend to watch Brian Cox and Patricia Clarkson in Long Day’s Journey into Night. Beautifully acted but it was 3.5 hours in the chair and very hard work. Like the Rebels, there were only small bursts of joy to go with a lot of bad news and a depressing story line. In the end, I was hoping it would end and I could give my sore butt a break. Again, familiar.
34 Go to commentsGood decision, very good player but not international quality. But so was Jamison Gibson Park …..
3 Go to commentsLoose forwards always look good going forward and winning. It’s the same loose forwards for the Crusaders and the Canes this year as last year. Too much of the shiny new things getting noticed here while older consistent ones getting bagged. It’s early days. Calm the farm.
5 Go to commentsThanks Nick, and on the money. We tend to be apathetic until something REALLY BAD happens, then we aren't! At least this applies to the Reb players and coach, if not the spectators. They seem to be getting very quick ball at times. Have they altered something, or is it just all of the skills coming together at the right time? It seems almost the opposite of the Reds, who started the season with quick ball, but haven't been showing that in the last 3 losing games. Is it attitude (McDermott hasn't looked “right” to me for 3 weeks), or something else?
34 Go to commentsGood summary. As said, Sevu Reece has been electrifying for the Crusaders. Great try and he has been everywhere. Amazing he is now equal with Caleb Ralph , club record of 52 tries for the Crusaders. That record beckons. Good to see Dallas McLeod getting regular starts at last. A big few weeks are ahead.
5 Go to commentsGood article/interview.As was said Christian Lio-Willie was barnstorming when he came on for the Crusaders. What happened at the end, self-explanatory.Captain fantastic Scott Barrett is due back soon as well, once they are back from Aussie. Great to see Ethan Blackadder back last week.
1 Go to commentsYou must have been watching one team, Andrew - and even then you missed the brightest star in the Chiefs pack - Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 2 turnovers, genuine line-out presence and grunt around the field, and the soft hands of a back.
5 Go to commentsHaha what a crock of sh!t these headlines are. Moorby’s best year was that first. Still doesn’t seem to have the same game about him as when he was fresh but has bounced back well this season to be playing consistent tight accurate footy
3 Go to commentsIt’s even dumber than Bernard Foley not kicking the penalty to touch in the Melbourne Bledisloe in 2022.
3 Go to commentsYes, they are traveling well but it’s early days. The Chiefs were in front with 20 to go while they snatched a last minute win v the Reds. Keep calm.
1 Go to commentsThe failure of the Irish system / rugby playing style to produce their own backs has them looking elsewhere for innovation and flair - not that Jordie has much flair. He’s a converted fullback. The Canes have plenty of other younger options.
10 Go to comments1.Watch Wallace Sititi be the wild card AB. A genuine full time no 8 2. Luke J like Sotutu has not delivered. 3. Chiefs have all the right cattle but badly miss the leadership of Webber. LJ is about as unconvincing as Sam Cane when under the pump. They had the winning of that game in the second half then fell apart.
5 Go to commentsYes the Rebels are showing signs of life because they are literally playing for their live -lihoods and thanks to their Australian attack coach. However they are still playing an essentially dull boring south african style for the rest of the time. And Geoff Parling must be the most useless lineout coach ever. Worse than Steve Hansen even. Interestingly we are starting to see more cheap shots and attempts to get away with cheating by Australian players, now they are being influenced by Joe Schmidt. It was exactly the same when Rennie started out as Wallaby coach and thru his tenure. Trying to teach Australians to play like kiwis doesn’t work, as the last 20 years has conclusively demonstrated. Especially when we are not as good at it as kiwis. Which of course is the whole idea …..
34 Go to commentsGreat signing, not sure where he’ll fit in though. As for him ‘playing alongside RG Snyman, that’s highly debatable given the likelyhood that the latter will spend most of the season on sick leave.
10 Go to commentsWowee!
10 Go to commentsEvery team that has played a game in Africa this Champions Cup season is already out of the competition - including the SA teams. Could be a concidence.
30 Go to commentsthat should offer some experiences for Jordie.
10 Go to commentsJust remember: He is not a winger. Took Ian Foster 2 years to figure that out.
10 Go to commentsExcellent article, Nick. We (your RP colleague Brett McKay and my 8/9 Combo cohost), are going to have LSL on our podcast later this month. He has shown consistent excellence as a leader and lock. I’ll chat with you offline about a line of questioning if you have time. H
34 Go to commentsSo no Irish fan or journalist suggested JGP was as good as DuPont. Then even the guy who supposedly did is from Wales and said JGP would be the best around if it was t for DuPont. Right, so what is this story about again
20 Go to comments