Joe Marler interview: England prop on international return, blunt Eddie Jones talks and World Cup darkness

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Back in the fold: Joe Marler is heading to the World Cup after reversing his England retirement
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Joe Marler knew he was going to be the butt of a few jokes when he returned to England camp this summer.

The Harlequins prop announced in September 2018 that he was retiring from international rugby, citing family reasons, but fast forward to last month and the 29-year-old was back in the fold.

It was a U-turn that took many by surprise and one, given that Marler is regarded as the joker of England’s pack, the prop was not allowed to get away with lightly - even from his captain Owen Farrell.

“It was my birthday,” Marler tells Standard Sport. “And Faz turned round and said: ‘You’re only 29’.

“I said: ‘Yeah I am you cheeky sod’. He said: ‘Mate, why are you surprised at me saying you’re only 29’. I said: ‘Well, do I look older?’

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“And he said: ‘No, it’s just that you’ve retired once. You’re 29, you’ve already retired once’.”

Marler has welcomed the banter he has received and confesses he feels like a kid on the first day of school now he's back.

The idea of a comeback had been at the back of his mind and on Saturday he will start a Test for the first time since coming out of retirement when England take on Ireland at Twickenham.

“I had always had those thoughts, probably the whole way through, those twinges of: ‘Oh, I miss it’,” Marler says.

“I missed the camaraderie, the crack with the boys, the memories that you make, even the memories that you make doing a World Cup training camp. They are great to be a part of.”

However it was not until playing for the Barbarians - against England at Twickenham - in June that Marler truly considered playing for his country once again.

“The Baa-Baas week was a big turning point for me with how enjoyable it was,” he says.

“Yeah it is a completely different environment to what it is here, but the actual purity of rugby, what the sport is about, running out at Twickenham again, kind of gave me a new lease of life.

"Just to be in this environment again is great.”

After deciding he wanted to return to the England setup, Marler of course had to approach head coach Eddie Jones about the subject.

The two had stayed in touch and consequently met for a drink during the week of England’s match with the Barbarians, with the prop unsure how talks would go.

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“Me and Eddie had kept in contact, just via text, here and there, usually mickey takes and just jokes,” says Marler.

“We met up on the Friday, chewed the fat, but that was the first time we had seen each other, face to face, since September.

“I said to him: ‘Look, I would love another opportunity but I also appreciate that if you turn round and say you’ve made your bed, I fully understand that. At least I’ll know’.

“He said: ‘Okay mate, if you wanna come back I will give you a shot, if you don’t, I don’t care’. He was as blunt as that.”

Marler has taken his chance with both hands and earlier this month he was named in England’s final 31-man World Cup squad.

It will be his second crack at the tournament, having been part of the group who were knocked out in the pool stages in England four years ago.

Marler claims Japan is not about making amends for that showing, but deep down it is still driving him on.

“From a personal point of view, I will always have that burning darkness from that tournament,” he says.

“That drives me every day, every week, whether I am at my club or here, to try and always get better and not stay in those dark places.

“It is just using those experiences, but you can’t ever make amends for that. What happened, happened and this is a new tournament with a new group.”

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