Rugby-Marler sorry for insulting opponent's mother but says sledging is the norm


  • Rugby
  • Thursday, 05 Jan 2023

FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - England v Ireland - Twickenham Stadium, London, Britain - March 12, 2022 England's Joe Marler looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/

(Reuters) - Harlequins and England prop Joe Marler has apologised for insulting an opponent's mother but said that kind of sledging is "the norm" in rugby.

Marler was handed a two-week ban for comments made to Bristol Bears' Jake Heenan as well as an additional four-week ban suspended until the end of the 2023/24 season.

"I'm really sorry to Jake Heenan and his family, the guy I insulted or tried to insult. Also to my team mates and to the club, because they must really now be at a point where they're like, 'Here we go again,'" Marler said on his podcast.

"I'm much better at that when it comes to a bit of chat or a bit of sledging," he added. "Usually, stuff like this is said. This is the norm."

Marler said his wife Daisy had called him an "idiot" and a "moron", adding that she was furious when she heard Heenan's mother was in the hospital.

Marler has a chequered disciplinary history.

In 2016 he called Wales prop Samson Lee "gypsy boy" and in 2020 he was hit with a 10-week ban for grabbing the testicles of another Wales player Alun Wyn Jones.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

   

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