1
'This sport is shrinking': England prop Marler pens magazine letter
England prop Joe Marler has sounded a dire warning for rugby, fearing that its appeal is shrinking and that more of an attempt must be made to get people who don’t notice the game to take an interest. The 31-year-old has enjoyed a renaissance in recent times, playing his way back into the Test squad under Eddie Jones and publishing his well-received autobiography, Loose Head.
ADVERTISEMENT
Marler also added a second Premiership title to his list of honours. However, while it is safe to say that the status of the Harlequins front-rower as a popular standout character in the sport is in no doubt, he would like others to emerge to help grow rugby’s popularity.
The current issue of Rugby World magazine has addressed the issue of style in the game, picturing Marler on its cover in one of his trademark snazzy tracksuits which have been catching the eye in recent times when he turns up at the grounds before Harlequins games.
Marler features prominently in the magazine, not only modelling some other tracksuits but also referencing the distinguished mohican hairstyle that drew criticism from people such as Martin Johnson when he was the prop’s England coach.
However, he also wrote a welcome letter on page five of the magazine that outlined his concerns about the evolution of rugby and how it must act fast to encourage people within the game to show more of themselves in order to attract new fans from outside.
England loosehead Marler wrote: “As corny as it sounds, we are all individuals, no two people are the same. Yes, we’re in a team sport but you can still put your stamp on things. I love dressing up, I always have, and it shows another side of yourself that people don’t necessarily know. My tracksuits are a way to get people talking about more than rugby because rugby at times is very difficult to explain to people who don’t know the sport. Plus, it’s fun!
“One of the big drivers for me, particularly going back and playing for England, is that I don’t want the new breed to make the mistakes I did, to feel that they have to go away from themselves, to not upset the apple cart because they might not get picked.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Away from individuality, this sport is shrinking. We all love the sport, play it, report on it, watch it, but it’s shrinking. People want more access to players, to connect with players and know who you are. Why wouldn’t you give that for the sport to grow and get bigger?
“It’s taken me a long time to be comfortable with myself but having kids and seeing the impact meeting Gareth Southgate had on my son, Jasper, recently… If I can have a similar effect on someone who likes rugby as much as Jasper likes football and they want to engage in the sport, why wouldn’t I do that?
“I remember when I first came through and had a mohican, people said: ‘You have to make sure you play well if you look like that.’ That works both ways – it forces me to back it up.
“People aren’t used to players not having a short back and sides or coming from a private school, but this is who I am, this is how I enjoy being. It’s not the norm for rugby but to grow the sport we have to appeal to different people. People who love rugby will keep coming back but we need to engage others.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Comments on RugbyPass
He was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
36 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to comments